Better days firmly in sight

A legacy of this year’s successful Derby Feste are several neon installations, created by internationally renowned artist, Tim Etchells. 

Tim’s oversized, understated, pieces of invented phrases sit above the streets of cities right across the world, including most recently at the Maximus Circus in Rome and Pompidou Centre in Paris. Add to this now, the Spot in Derby.

To be fair, we are lucky in that he has a few pieces located across the city, but my favourite sits on the brow of the curved art deco building that connects the London and Osmaston Roads, yes at a place called the Spot.

Coming at the end of a traumatic couple of years of pandemic and lockdowns, the piece, set in large red-light letters, simply reads “to see better days”. 

To me the message is positive, it’s one of hope that encourages a sense of confidence in the future for the many thousands who pass by each day. 

Art can certainly play a role in sharing light and hope which is why I was delighted when Derby decided to throw its hat in the ring and bid to become City of Culture in 2025. 

To be honest, I was even more delighted when I saw how the statement of intent was warmly welcomed by the wider community. In a funny way, I’m less concerned about winning, more about the ambition it manifests.

I suspect this is because over the summer the city felt as if it had really embraced culture and already felt like a city of culture. This may be why Radio 4’s prestigious arts review show – Frontline – dedicated a whole episode to Derby last month. 

The opening of the stunning Museum of Making was definitely a red-letter day of national significance, but the great thing is that it didn’t feel like an isolated event. 

For example, the brilliantly curated exhibition at the Museum and Art Gallery of the work of Quentin Blake, the thrilling Ram Trail, ambitious Darley Park concert series and of course, the vibrant Feste, put culture centre stage as restrictions were lifted and people tentatively came back into the city centre.

In particular, the 31 Ram sculptures sprinkled across the city were a real tonic, acting as a catalyst for energy, conversation and simple shared excitement – a real confidence boost.

Of course, there is that famous phrase that ‘confidence breeds confidence’ and there is no doubt that cultural community played its role in helping people feel better about a place. 

In my experience, confidence is at the heart of every investment decision and building belief will play a key part in the recovery process underway in most businesses and places. 

It is certainly core to Derby’s recovery plan – shorthanded as confidence, diversification and decarbonisation – which is now being rolled out across a number of projects.

Some of this is evidenced by the cranes finally appearing on the city skyline as projects such as Wavensmere Homes Nightingale Quarter and St James Securities Becket Well schemes come out of the ground.

Located across the London Road from Compendium Living’s Castleward 800 home scheme (which has just started phrase 3) the Nightingale Quarter is shooting up at speed, with a further 800 homes under construction around the beautiful iconic and regenerated pepper pots. 

This means in a few short years, over 5,000 people will be living on the city’s south side where only recently few lived.

Across town, the fact that UK’s number one city living investor, Grainger plc, chose to forward fund £38m into the 259-home Build-to-Rent apartment complex on Victoria Street, is another example of genuine confidence.

I was especially delighted when both these schemes won best in class regional awards at the recent Business Inside East Midlands Property Dinner, confidence repaid.

One investment that appears to have passed some by without too much comment – certainly in terms of its scale and impact – is that of the deals recently secured by the Derbion.   

In one week at the height of summer, the Derbion team announced over 200,000 square feet of new investments, including the complete relet of the 127,000 sq ft empty Debenhams store to a new department store, Frasers, a luxury offshoot of the House of Fraser. 

Now remember, retail was in reverse mode across the country before Covid hit and for many retailers, the pandemic was the last straw. These daring Derbion deals included the introduction of Flannels, Evans Cycles and Mango into the city and watch this space as there are more to follow.  

Complementing these – both in terms of scale and geography – are the investments being unlocked through the Additional Restrictions Grant managed by Derby City Council and Marketing Derby. 

In a few short months, we committed the whole £1.75m pot to a series of entrepreneur led schemes, primarily focused on repurposing beautiful heritage buildings in the Cathedral Quarter, many left empty and forlorn for decades. 

Underpinning all of this, as always, are the investment trends at the so-called Big 3 – Alstom, Rolls-Royce and Toyota – all of whom have serious deals to be done most especially in green technology. 

These are complemented by the new kids on the block, the 5,000 job, 2.4m sqft SmartParc SEGRO campus in Spondon, who recently announced their funding partnership, as well as the £40m St Modwen Park Derby and of course, Infinity Park Derby, where construction will soon begin on two landmark investments.

The Jamaican national hero, Marcus Garvey, said that “with confidence you have won before you have started”. 

Let’s hope this is so as over the past 10 years, Derby has attracted £3.1bn of investment, and with £1.7bn in the pipeline we may soon be seeing better days.