‘Derby is the gift that keeps on giving’

As well as featuring a top line-up of keynote speakers, this year’s Derby Property Summit also featured a fascinating panel debate.

Among the panel were representatives of organisations who had chosen Derby as a place to invest.

First up was Paul Simpson, chief executive of Derby City Council, who joined host Declan Curry on stage to talk through some of the major projects taking place in the city centre.

This year, Paul has been helping to take Derby’s investment message both national and international by accompanying Marketing Derby’s investment team to events such as MIPIM and UKREiiF.

At the Derby Property Summit he talked through some of the city’s key schemes including The Condor apartments, the Becketwell Performance Venue, the Market Hall revamp, the Eastern Gateway and plans for a new learning theatre at the Assembly Rooms.

The summit’s headline partner Bowmer + Kirkland recently started work on the Becketwell Performance Venue.

Paul told the summit: “It will help to attract over 250,000 new visitors each year to Derby.

“This part of the city has so much to offer, and the performance venue will help bolster this and bring visitors in, both during the day and night times.”

Paul was then joined by Alex Hudson, market senior partner for PwC East Midlands, Tom Ketteringham, chief of staff at the Great British Railways Transition Team and Donna Smith, sales director at Wavensmere Homes.

In May, PwC published its latest Good Growth for Cities Index, in which Derby was named as the best ‘all-rounder’ for growth.

The report found that Derby was the only location in the East Midlands to have just one indicator highlighted for improvement, concluding that the city was “experiencing overall good growth”.

Speaking about the research, Alex told the summit: “Derby was placed 24th overall, which shows it is doing well post-pandemic.

“Smaller cities like Derby are performing better than the larger cities because they offer more of a community feel with better job opportunities.”

Earlier this year, it was announced that Derby had been selected to be the new home of GBR, which was major coup for the city.

During the panel session, Tom explained why Derby had been selected.

He said: “Derby not only submitted the best bid – but it also attracted the most public votes.

“We’re really excited to be working with the city. There is an opportunity with our Derby headquarter to create a real landmark in the station area of the city, which is a key gateway. We want to be a real part of the fabric of Derby.”

Wavensmere Homes is the company behind the stunning Nightingale Quarter residential scheme – and the chosen developer for the regeneration of the derelict Friar Gate Goods Yard.

The company also recently completed a deal that will see it develop a riverside plot in the city centre, which has been earmarked for new apartments.

Explaining why Wavensmere Homes was continuing to invest in Derby, Donna told the summit: “We were welcomed with open arms into Derby, which was a really refreshing feeling as a West Midlands developer.

“For us, Derby is the gift that keeps on giving. We realised very soon that the Nightingale Quarter was just the tip of the iceberg for us in Derby.”