With our main office based in Derby’s Cathedral Quarter, working at BB&J Commercial puts us right in the mix when it comes to seeing and experiencing what is going on around us as the city continues to change and evolve.
As I look out the window at the old buildings around me and Iron Gate below, it strikes me that if I were to believe a lot of what I read online and in print about Derby, I wouldn’t want to be here. But I do, and I have enjoyed it ever since I moved here from the other end of what is now Brian Clough Way, back in 1994.
A lot has changed in Derby since then, and whilst I accept everyone has an opinion, I do get frustrated about the constant carping that goes on about not liking this, not liking that, we don’t want this built, this looks ridiculous etcetera etcetera, and what seems to be a general resistance to change.
I do wonder why so many people seem to see the negative in what is going on around them, as though they have a determination to seek out what makes them miserable, rather than what makes them happy.
Personally, I prefer to see the glass is half-full rather than half-empty, and so I want to use this opportunity to point out the many positives that Derby has to offer. After all, I’m not Derby born and bred, and like to think I can still have a bit of an outsider’s perspective…
Firstly, the retail scene has changed a lot. Westfield (now Intu) took much of the retail trade from elsewhere in the city. Its opening coincided with the recession, which didn’t help the high street. However, in the older part of Derby we have worked through this partly via the formation of the Cathedral Quarter BID, and the hard work that has been put into making this a ‘destination’ area. The CQ has just won ‘Best British High Street’, is now nearly fully occupied by a mix of independent and quality national retailers and has within a very compact space become a vibrant area for shopping and leisure. It didn’t happen overnight – in fact it’s taken several years- but it has been a magnificent success. I’m really pleased, as we all should be, that local businesses have voted for the CQ BID to be renewed.
I accept that St Peter’s Quarter does not have the same level of success, in fact as anyone who walks through it currently will agree, it has a whole host of problems including vacant units, anti -social behaviour, and a general air of being ‘down at heel’. Retail habits change, and Derby city has become polarised between the twin draws of the Intu and the CQ. St Peter’s has become lost in the middle. So what do we do instead of moaning about it?
Well I’m glad to say that a second vote to get the St Peter’s Quarter BID back on track is a positive start. There is no quick-fix, the area is at the level the CQ was several years ago, but with investment and development it will get where it needs to be.
What people want from their city centres is changing, and it takes time for the cities themselves to catch up. A recent interesting article on the BBC website (Five ways to fix our ailing High Streets 14/11/17) advocates introducing pop up events, night markets, food outlets-all mixed in with traditional retail- to bring people in. We already do this in the Derby CQ, and it works very well.
I do think lifting or limiting car parking charges is something the City Council should seriously consider though, as it is a significant factor in deterring shoppers from coming into the CQ for a specific visit to one of the speciality shops. I think the Council have an important role to play in promoting and helping the city as a whole, and this would be an important step to encourage people to experience Derby beyond Intu.
Secondly, another way to rejuvenate and stimulate the city centre is the trend for city living, seen across Derby’s city centre in the form of both new build apartments and conversions of older buildings.
Some bemoan the lack of office space in areas like the CQ. But much of the office space has stood there, empty, decaying and unwanted for years. So putting it to a better use is something to be applauded. Derby city centre, like many others, used to become a ghost town at 5.30pm when businesses and shops close their doors.
However, go to most continental cities, and they have shops, cafes, local supermarkets, restaurants and bars all open into the night. This is largely because the floors above them are occupied by people who want to live in the city, who want the convenience and lifestyle of plenty going around them, who don’t want to drive out to the suburbs every night and sit in front of the TV. What better way is there to promote and encourage a vibrant city centre by having it occupied by people both in the daytime and in the evening? So yes, we’ve lost some redundant office space, but instead we have people actually living in it.
BB&J Commercial have been involved in a number of schemes including St James Chambers, which having been converted into 22 apartments now helps to bring life right back into the city centre. There are some very fine old buildings even being converted back into private houses, which is to be applauded. The prospective redevelopment of the old council buildings on St Mary’s Gate into apartments will be a further massive boost to the night-time and leisure economy. Yet still people oppose redevelopment of perennially empty sites across the city centre, as though keeping them as car parks or vacant sites is a better option than creating an urban space that people want to live in and spend time in. City centre residential developments and conversions are something that we should embrace and encourage, not carp on about being ‘inappropriate’.
Thirdly and finally, add these two initiatives together: a vibrant city centre, socially and economically enhanced by the needs of those who actually live in the city, and you have a (very) simple idea as to how Derby can, and I’m sure will, improve over the next several years.
And in my opinion, one of the things that people often complain about regarding Derby is actually one of the things that is its greatest charm. It is not a big city. It will never compare in terms of size and variety with the likes of Nottingham and Leicester. But the fact that it is so compact is what makes it so manageable, friendly and community driven. And it will only improve over the years if we welcome these changes, not oppose them by default.
Personally, I love living and working in Derby, and I look forward to being here with my business and my family for years to come. I really do think it’s a great place to be.
And that’s coming from a Forest fan……
