£3.5M APARTMENT PLAN FOR WEST END

New life is being breathed into a once "run-down" area of Derby with work starting on a £3.5m luxury apartments scheme. Radleigh Homes is building the 24 apartments in Mill Street, off Ashbourne Road - part of the city's West End. The two-bedroom apartments are being built on a half-acre site and the starting price for them is £147,500. The site lies within the Friar Gate conservation area, close to St John's Church and St John's Terrace, both Grade II-Listed buildings, and Markeaton Brook. It was used to be the site of the Riverside Club, which housed a University of Derby health and fitness centre, and was occupied by a cinema in the 1920s.

The new apartment complex, called Westgate, is the latest "city living" development and it is hoped that it will attract young professionals. City living is seen as a trend in the housing industry, which has seen developers acquire city sites to build luxury homes. Other examples in Derby include nearby Wheeldon Manor, Wheeldon Avenue, and Merchant Street, off Ashbourne Road. The developer says there has already been huge interest in the scheme, despite the fact that the first phase is not due to be completed until next spring. The complex will not be finished until summer 2004. Sales manager Hayley Scott said, "There appears to be great excitement about this latest city living development, particularly as it is the first of its kind to be constructed in this desirable residential area."

City councillor Valerie Beech said, "The area tends to have a high student population and these luxury apartments will certainly help balance out the area as a whole. It was a derelict area and I am pleased that new flats are being built." Russell Rigby, director of property agent Innes England, Friar Gate, said, "It is an exciting time for the city and this is reflected by the spiralling values of land. People want a 24-hour city with new leisure facilities and improved shopping. Now we need people to live here."

Radleigh Homes, based in Pride Park, has also applied to Derby City Council to demolish an industrial building in Ashbourne Road and replace it with 26 two-bedroom apartments and two houses costing £4m. The plans also include converting Melton House, a grade II-listed building, from offices into four luxury flats. The apartments are part of Radleigh Homes' City Living vision to provide properties for people in all income brackets within the city.

An application has also been submitted for 22 apartments, incorporating four grade-II listed cottages, in Brook Street, next to Markeaton Brook and construction is due to start in autumn if planning permission is granted. Stewart Todd, Derby City Council's head of development control, said, "We are getting a huge number of applications for development on previously developed land near to the city centre and on the main bus routes."

Radleigh Homes wants to demolish offices at 55 Ashbourne Road, close to Ashgate Junior School and Slater Avenue, to replace them with 24 two-bedroom apartments. Radleigh has already undertaken two developments off Ashbourne Road and has plans for another in the area. As well as Radleigh's developments and plans, Wheeldon Homes has created a luxury apartment block on the corner of Brick Street, while developer Urbanscan wants to build 24 apartments, also close to Ashgate Primary School.

The new £3.5m plans have been submitted to Derby City Council and if completed, the apartments would range in price from £120,000 to £200,000. Radleigh's joint managing director, Chris Neve, said, "The idea is to cater for many different levels of affordability. This development would see apartments across a wide price range. It's part of an ongoing programme to continue to provide this type of accommodation in the city."

Mr Neve added, "The area's proved popular because it fits in with city-living ideals. It has good access to the city, so people are able to walk to work in the mornings. But it's also close to the road system so, at weekends, people can jump in the car and get away from it all."

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