DERBY CITYSCAPE

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Plans to regenerate Derby over the next 20 years could be widened to incorporate a new gateway to the city centre from the railway station and to lobby for the relocation of a Government department in the city. John Cadwallader, the newly-appointed chief executive of Derby Cityscape, said that a new "masterplan" for the city's £275m facelift was being drawn up over the coming months by London-based consultants EDAW.

The masterplan will take off from proposals drawn up two years ago as the blueprint for Derby's development, which focused on breathing new life into four key areas of the city, Friar Gate, Becket Well, the riverside and a new Civic Quarter around the Market Place and the Cathedral.

Mr Cadwallader said, "What we'll do then is develop a marketing strategy which will attract visitors to the city and lobby the Government to locate a department here. What the masterplan will do is make the development world more aware of the opportunities in Derby and sometimes that's just the spark that's needed to take things forward. These things aren't just going to happen and no one individual in the city can make it happen on their own, so we're here as the catalyst to make it happen." Other key areas identified for development under the Cityscape scheme are:

* Friar Gate Goods Yard, which could be used for family housing, businesses and leisure facilities, as well as a relocated Government department.

* Friar Gate and Sadler Gate, where historic buildings could be refurbished for office use, hidden courtyards could be opened up for mixed use development, and Sadler Gate could be promoted as a centre for quality retailing.

* South Riverside (around the Cathedral and Market Place area), where the site of Full Street police station is earmarked for housing. Plans for Quad, a visual arts and media centre, are already under way in the Market Place.

* North Riverside (the area around Darwin Place), where a new performing arts centre could be developed and Darwin Place car park could be replaced by a new multi-storey car-park.

* Becket Well, which is earmarked as a potential site for relocated Derby City Council accommodation, featuring a landmark civic building.

* Castleward, near Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, which could see family housing with a new primary school, as well as a gateway between Derby train station, in Railway Terrace, and Traffic Street.

The plans were drawn up after EDAW conducted a public consultation exercise. John Cadwallader said, "We're very excited that we're now at the stage where we need feedback on the plans."

A stainless steel and glass design has been chosen to form the basis of Derby's new arts centre. Michael Say, the chairman of Metro Cinema assured those who used the square they were well aware of people's concerns about the controversial design. He said, "There are naturally concerns, the general look of it, as it needs to complement what is already in the square. That concern is one of the factors we will be taking forward into the next stage of the process." Councillors have said the design is not set in stone and comments will be listened to.

The Quad consortium said a two-week public consultation process revealed it was the favoured option of the people of Derby but in a straw poll conducted by the Evening Telegraph the design came bottom, with none of the 20 people surveyed saying they liked it. The authority stressed that the design does not represent exactly what the finished building will look like (so the exhibition was pointless then?) but it will serve as the blueprint for the finished article. Basically, they'll make it up as they go along.

If the council is as good as previous councils at providing what they promised, then we need have no fear of our Market Place being developed further. For example, many failed bids and planned schemes (fiascos) include; the Millennium Dome, the National Ice Stadium, a watersports centre at Pride Park, the hole in the 'hole in the ground', The Roundhouse, Elvaston Castle, Allestree Hall, the inner ring road, Five Lamps and Duckworth Square. Have no fear, this monstrosity might never happen. T Beresford

A City Growth Derby strategy document has been put together by businesses to ensure that Derby's economy is able to cope and expand with the various developments across the city. City Growth chairman Russell Rigby said, "Our vision is to put Derby at the vanguard of medium-sized cities with a reputation for excellence and innovation. This will mean Derby is increasingly recognised as a location for high-value employment, building on the design and engineering expertise we have built over many years."

He added, "Our vision means that Derby will be the location of choice for the most able and most talented and will enable all parts of the community to benefit from economic growth." The strategy lists Derby's strengths, including transport links, the closeness to green areas and the ratio of average wages compared to houses prices in the city is better than the national average. Weaknesses include a lack of enterprise. Only 24 businesses per 10,000 population were started up in Derby in 2003, compared to a national average of 34. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Mar/06)