DERBY CITYSCAPE

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Jurys Doyle Hotels wants to build a 200-bedroom hotel on the former Bridgegate BMW site, in King Street, at a cost of £25m. Chief executive, Pat McCann, said, "Derby is one of the cities that we've earmarked for development. We'd love to have a hotel there and there's a very good chance that it's going to happen. Nothing's concrete yet but we're hoping something can be sorted out. We'd love to have something in there by the end of 2007." He said that the Derby hotel would be similar to the three-star Nottingham hotel (which is reminiscent of an Eastern European tenament), which opened in September and which has 264 rooms starting at £49 per night. John Cadwallader, chief executive of Derby Cityscape, a £1bn plan to redevelop the city centre, said that the development would fit in with its master plan. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Jan/06)

Belfast firm McAleer & Rushe has bought the former Bridgegate BMW site in King Street to create a 200-bedroom hotel. The development company is working on behalf of Irish hotel chain Jurys Doyle, which wants to put a three-star Jurys Inn on the site. McAleer & Rushe is now in talks with Derby City Council about its proposals for the site. A large, underground car park is likely to be included and apartments built, which would be sold privately.

McAleer & Rushe chief executive Eamonn Laverty said, "We've been looking in Derby for some time for a suitable hotel site and we're delighted to have acquired this site. We're in early discussions with planners. We feel they're supportive of a hotel in that location. We specialise in mixed-use schemes in redevelopment areas. The site in Derby fits exactly with what we do." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Jun/06)

Hillier Investments wants to build a budget hotel and 50 flats next to St Alkmund's Way, but Cityscape chief executive John Cadwallader believes Hillier's proposals are not of sufficient quality to support the overall £1bn vision. The Cityscape master plan includes a four-star hotel just yards down the road, but so far no firm offers have been made from quality hotel chains. Mr Cadwallader said, "In terms of the Hillier application with the hotel on, we don't really think it's of the standard we would expect to meet our aspirations. It would appear it's very much along the lines of a one-star or two-star hotel rather than the quality four-star hotel we're looking for."

Bryan Huckerby, of property agent Lambert Smith Hampton, which is representing Hillier Investments, said, "Strong interest has been received from a national hotel group and several residential developers wishing to carry out either a mixed-use development comprising hotel and apartments or alternatively entirely of apartments. Putting a multi-storey car park on such an important site is akin to putting a garden shed in the front garden of a house." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph)

The first draft designs for a new memorial garden within the grounds of Derby's proposed £9.8m visual arts centre Quad have been revealed. Ideas for the relocated Sir Peter Hilton Memorial Garden and Korean War Memorial were unveiled before a meeting of ex-servicemen's organisations in the city on Monday. The new design followed widespread protests from war veterans at plans to build Quad on the site of the Sir Peter Hilton Memorial Garden in Corporation Street and relocate the garden elsewhere in the city. Quad architects Feilden Clegg Bradley, of Bath, have since gone back to the drawing board in an effort to incorporate a replacement memorial garden within the Quad site.

The main Quad building's annexe, containing workshop space and creative business units - has subsequently been moved back several metres closer to the Market Hall, freeing up a larger section of space on the Corporation Street frontage for the garden and memorial. Ex-servicemen are currently discussing the proposals, although some have cautiously welcomed the design as "an improvement". The furore over the location of Quad erupted in November when Derby City Council announced it had found a new site to replace the previous controversial choice in the Market Place.

The Quad consortium, which includes the council, Q Arts and Metro Cinema, has since attempted to appease the war veterans by pledging that an improved memorial garden was a top priority. Quad's consultant development director, Peter Mount, said, "It's early days in terms of a final design. There's a lot of detailed work to do now, which involves working closely with the veterans." City council leader Maurice Burgess said, "The architects are working extremely hard to accommodate the needs and desires of the veterans." (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph)

The Minister of State for Regeneration is quoted as saying, "What we want is Derby's renaissance by Derby people." I want to know how Lord Rooker knows what Derby people want and if it reflects the needs of all sectors of Derby society proportionally. I thought urban regeneration companies were supposed to unite businesses and the community. However, all the news seems to focus on private investment of a top-down nature. May I suggest that a complementary "bottom up" approach would make a more holistic development project and a completely "bottom up" approach would be trailblazing? The reason I am suggesting this is that glamorous projects may well bring people in and wealthy people may prosper.

But how will this £1bn investment improve the lives of people who already live in Derby, particularly the 25,000 people across Derbyshire who cannot afford to live independently because there is not enough affordable property on the local market? I suggest that the Government invests in compulsorily buying the 15,000 properties in the county that are derelict and becoming public nuisance spots. These could be converted into low-cost housing, with the added benefit of avoiding the social problems of putting the most needy together in housing estates. Could there be some guarantee that serious recognition is made of the needs and support for the poorest people in Derbyshire, because the trickle-down effect is well-known for failing to reach the most needy? This approach would give Derby a unique identity of which we could be truly proud. Natalie Hollingworth

What protection? No-one can ignore the changes that Derby is going to experience over the next 10 to 20 years. As well as this, we cannot ignore the people that the Cityscape development will affect short and long-term. My mum and stepdad are joint licensees of the Royal Standard, in Derwent Street. They have both worked hard to build up a business over the past three years. They were prepared to take a risk with the Royal Standard in the hope that the pub would be involved in the plans, not demolished. As well as part of the building being listed, it has historical significance. Queen Victoria drank in the lounge bar on one of her visits to Derby. Despite this, it seems that a building is protected only when it suits the council and its plans. Why don't we keep Derby looking like Derby? Cheri Mawson

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