Talking Investment: ‘Collaboration is key to building a strong city centre’

Smith Partnership Solicitors was the headline partner at last week’s Derby Property Summit, which was attended by 300 people. At the event, Danielle Upton, partner in the law firm’s commercial property team, spoke during the panel session about the firm’s commitment to the city – and the benefits of having an office in the city centre. Here, Danielle talks further about this and shares her views on the importance of community and culture to the strength of our city.

Smith Partnership moved into its new offices in Friar Gate six years ago, after what proved to be a challenging search for quality office space in the city centre.

We now have around 130 of our staff based here and are one of only a handful of professional services firms remaining within the city centre, with the majority having moved out to Pride Park and alike.

We believe that having people working and living in the city centre is important to its continued economic growth and vibrancy and we are proud to be playing a small part in that.

We have taken the same approach where possible in our other branch offices.

Our Leicester office is based in the heart of the city centre, and we are also in the process of relocating our Stoke office closer to the city centre there.

Our employees are shopping on the high street during their lunch break, they are nipping into local coffee shops for a drink or a bite to eat and they are already seeing and feeling the benefits of the incredible regeneration that we heard about at the Derby Property Summit.

Even something as simple as being able to get away from your desk and have somewhere like the new public square next to The Condor building or Electric Daisy to sit and enjoy a green space means that the city is already a much more appealing place to work and live.

I have worked in Derby for nearly 12 years, and I have never seen as much activity and as many cranes in the skyline as I have in the recent months and years.

It is inspiring to finally see things moving forward and to be right in the middle of the action!

I remember walking past The Condor building not long after it completed last year – the sun was shining (which in itself feels like a distant memory) but the buzz of change and excitement in the air was almost palpable.

As a firm, we are committed to continue to support and promote this regeneration by providing quality legal services to investors and developers – and we have seen a noticeable increase in smaller developers investing in the areas surrounding the larger regeneration projects.

This ripple effect has already begun to create a real sense of identity in some pockets of the city centre and the creation of new communities.

These new communities will need the support of the voluntary and community sectors and the strength of our cultural offering is what will attract people to come here in the first place and to stay.

This is why I believe that collaboration between the investors and the businesses in the city, and the voluntary, community and cultural sectors is so important, and this is something which as a firm, we are passionate about.

We worked closely with Down to Earth to help secure their Electric Daisy site, an urban oasis for all those that work and live in the city and we are thrilled to now see their collaboration with Wavensmere Homes and the creation of new community gardens which I understand will also be rolled out on the Friar Gate Goods Yard scheme.

We also recently assisted the Safe and Sound charity to acquire their new premises in Bold Lane, which will be extensively renovated from what was a closed and dilapidated restaurant, to enable the charity to expand its capacity to provide support services for young people and families across the city and further afield.

Safe and Sound were supported by several other local stakeholders and businesses in the city, including Marketing Derby, and this support helped them to secure grant funding for the project, which is a great example of what collaboration and support for our voluntary sector can achieve.

With the recent worrying news that Derby QUAD is in financial difficulty and the added pressure of cuts in the cultural sector, it is crucial that we as businesses and investors, rally behind organisations in these sectors and support them in whatever way we can.

Derby Museums has created their own Business Network, which is good way for businesses to get involved and to support the museum as one of the key cultural venues in the city.

So, as a final thought, as impressive as the larger schemes are, some of the smaller projects happening in and around the city will have just as great an impact on the strength of our city and our sense of place and these should be celebrated and supported too.