New city centre ambition conversations begin in June

Published: 27 May 2022

Derby City Council is taking the first steps in launching a new ambition document and city conversation to address the issues that are facing UK cities. 

As part of the city’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and to meet the challenges of the 21st century, Derby City Council has created a new ambition document which outlines ideas for a bold, transformational vision for Derby city centre. Now is the time to have your say!

Derby’s city centre conversation begins on Wednesday 8 June on the Let’s Talk Derby website and will be a chance for residents and businesses to review emerging ideas and share your feedback.

The conversation is a way for citizens to engage with the new ambition document, that was approved at a Special Cabinet meeting in May.

The vision will focus on longer-term ideas and interventions that will transform the city centre and secure its future as a vibrant place that people can feel proud of and want to visit. It will recognise the challenges facing all city centres, not just Derby, and provide an over-arching ‘direction-of-travel’ that will inform future plans and actions.

The document is broken down into 12 themes that focus on the main issues facing our city centre and the key areas we want to improve or reimagine.

• Climate change • Culture • Public realm • Green and blue infrastructure • City living • Accessibility and connectivity • Heritage • Design quality • Learning • Business and creativity • Shopping and leisure • Delivery and coordination

Cllr Chris Poulter, Leader of Derby City Council said: 

We’re excited to start this open conversation with our residents, businesses and stakeholders. This is a fantastic opportunity to talk about what we want Derby to be in the future. From these discussions we’ll be creating a brand new vision for the future of our city centre. I urge everyone to take the time and share ideas for the Derby of the future.

While we need to take urgent action now to deal with the immediate challenges and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we also need a longer-term plan that addresses the structural issues that face the city centre, which can’t be solved overnight. 

We’ll be working closely with our Team Derby partners and to get a greater understanding of what our residents and businesses would like and need to see in their city centre. These conversations will be the first step towards creating a new vision which will restore its position as the heart and soul of Derby.

This is the first time a city-wide future regeneration conversation has taken place of this size since the creation of the City Centre Masterplan in 2016. The previous plan brought about exciting developments within the city, including the Becketwell development and Our City, Our River flood defence scheme. 

These conversations around the ambition will inform the next stage in the process for developing a new City Centre vision to be published in 2023.  

The conversation begins on Wednesday 8 June and will run for 12 weeks over the summer on the Let’s Talk Derby website for residents, business and stakeholders to share ideas and feedback. 

Consultation