Becket Well ready for planning approval

Bondholder St James Securities' £200m regeneration plans for Becket Well are recommended for approval by Bondholder Derby City Council's Planning Committee at its meeting tonight.

Becket Well is the city's regeneration priority, following 30 years of blight which has impacted negatively on the wider area.

A Council document published ahead of the meeting said: “There is a clear and compelling need to comprehensively regenerate Becket Well and the scheme has the potential to secure a multitude of benefits.

“The benefits of the scheme are highly significant and members will be acutely aware of the long term hiatus in any positive socio-economic activity on this site.”

Plans submitted include 224 apartments over a maximum of ground plus 10 storeys, plus a second smaller building of ground plus 4 storeys developed separately and fronting Green Lane and Victoria Street. It will also comprise a public square on the site of the current United Reformed Church.

The regeneration of the Becket Well area of the city is expected to bring numerous benefits, including a repopulation of residents to the city centre which will help boost activity outside of traditional retail hours. It is also hoped that the substantial levels of investment proposed at Becket Well will provide confidence for further new investment in surrounding areas of the city centre.

John Forkin, Managing Director of Marketing Derby said: “We have to be confident and ambitious in moving forward as a city. We need more people living, working and visiting in the city centre and the regeneration of Becket Well is a critical scheme in the wider masterplan.”

A film produced by Bondholder Future Proof Films (see film above) shows how the area could be transformed into a mixed-use development at the heart of Derby city centre.