Council to invest £400m in city's future

Derby City Council is urging businesses across Derby to have their say on its future spending plans, which aim to help the city bounce back stronger from the Covid crisis.

In the first Talking Business Live of 2021, hosted by Marketing Derby, city council leaders called on firms to take part in its budget consultation as it looks to spearhead the rebuilding and recovery of the economy following the impact of Covid-19.

In front of an audience of 50 Bondholders, the council gave an overview of its budget position and set out its spending plans for the new financial year beginning in April.

In total, the city council is planning to spend over £400 million on capital investment over the next three years.

Councillor Chris Poulter, leader of Derby City Council outlined some of the projects it is backing that will be key to Derby’s future, including Becketwell, the Museum of Making, SmartParc and a new Manufacturing Research Centre at Infinity Park Derby.

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He also outlined ideas to create a more vibrant city centre thanks to a recent £15 million boost from the Future High Streets Fund.

He said: “We think this is a very good budget that we are going out to consultation with.

“It’s a budget that is balanced and does not call on the city council’s reserves. We are in a position that is much, much better than our comparators around the country.

“The budget is designed around working with the city – to help it build back and recover stronger than we were before the shock of Covid.

“We need to unlock the city to create stronger communities and a stronger economy, increase footfall and repurpose the city centre to something that’s different but equally as vibrant as it can be.”

At the meeting, Councillor Nicola Roulstone, cabinet member for finance, revealed that the council had not been immune to the impact of Covid.

She said it had been impacted to the tune of around £100 million, due to a combination of additional costs reacting to Covid, the loss of income streams, such as car parks, and providing extra support to businesses, some of which had been channelled through government.

However, she said that the city council was managing to balance its budget.

She said: “We are very proud of the hard work the officers and everyone else has put into this budget.

“We are confident that the steady hand of us as an administration and the focus that we have had has allowed us to be in a much better position.

“We are planning to invest in the future – and we want businesses to help us coordinate the capital ambition for the city. Working with businesses is a major factor in that.”

Simon Riley, strategic director of resources at Derby City Council, told the meeting that the city council had issued almost £93 million of grants to thousands of businesses since the Covid crisis started.

He said going forward, the city council would provide a range of financial support to a number of initiatives, which could assist with the recovery.

He said: “Businesses are a really important group in the city and we want to hear from them on whether they feel our spending plans resonate with the needs of the city, whether the financial support is being put in the right place and whether the priorities we have included are the right ones for the city and whether there is anything that has not been included.”

As well as the budget consultation, the event also featured Laura Howard, from the Enterprise Europe Network.

Delivered by East Midlands Chamber, the network provides intensive specialist-led support for ambitious businesses.

To watch the discussion in full click here.

To take part in the city council’s budget consultation please click here.