Why resilience is one of Derby’s key qualities

Here, in his latest monthly column reflecting on the news over the past month, our Press and PR Executive Robin Johnson looks at the headlines.

I’ve always believed that what really makes a city is its people.

It’s a bit of a cliché but it’s true. You can have the most magnificent buildings in the world – but the beating heart is the citizens who live, work and play in them.

Derby is a smallish city compared to others – but in many ways, that is our strength.

We have an incredibly tight-knit business community – many of whom are Marketing Derby Bondholders.

They are supportive of one another – and at the same time welcoming to others.

And they – along with Marketing Derby itself – are always ready to mobilise at the drop of a hat whenever an opportunity arises (or a crisis) which could impact the whole of the city.

It’s this attitude that helps make our city so resilient.

In fact, ‘resilience’ was a word which kept coming into my mind time and time again as January went on.

Of course, I know what it means – but it didn’t stop me from picking up my Oxford English Dictionary (yes, I still use a hard copy!) to look up its official definition.

‘Resilience – The quality or fact of being able to recover quickly or easily from, or resist being affected by, a misfortune’.

With this in mind, perhaps the embodiment of resilience are the staff and volunteers at Derby Museums’ Museum of Making.

Back in October, flooding caused by Storm Babet forced this wonderful building on the banks of the River Derwent to temporarily close.

At the time, we all feared the worst – but it was not long before businesses and individuals started to come forward with offers of support.

Happily, at the end of January, the museum opened its doors to the public thanks to the heroic efforts of its management, staff and volunteers.

Welcome back, Museum of Making. We’ve missed you!

Another instance where the word ‘resilience’ started rattling around my brain was when I was standing at the back of a packed Marketing Derby Bondholder Breakfast event hosted by Derby County.

I was standing because the 200 or so chairs in the room already had bums on them!

It was fascinating to hear about how the Rams had bounced back from the dark times – with the club paying tribute to the support it received from the city as a whole.

Derby County has undergone a massive change – not just in ownership, but in culture.

There are those who fear change. But new beginnings can be both exciting and rewarding.

One entity that is looking forward to beginning its next phase in 2024 is the award-winning Derby City Lab.

In January, we revealed that the lab would be moving to Derbion.

Situated on Level 2 of the centre, it is due to open to the public in early March – and we warmly invite you to drop by to get the latest on Derby’s regeneration story, and most importantly, have your say.

Ahead of that opening date, a lucky few attending our forthcoming Annual Business Event on 20 February at Derby Theatre will be given a sneak preview!

Keeping with the subject of new beginnings, an increasing number of people are looking at Derby as a place to build a new life.

That’s according to a recent national study by property investment firm Joseph Mews, which highlighted Derby as one of the best cities in the UK to buy property.

According to investors behind our major residential schemes, particularly in the city centre, demand remains high.

And that is why developers are rattling through the phases of their respective schemes.

For example, buildings have been cleared to make way for the fourth – and penultimate – phase of Compendium Living’s £100 million Castleward scheme, which will deliver more than 800 homes once completed.

Grainger Plc’s impressive build-to-rent apartments scheme The Condor – part of the £200 million Becketwell regeneration scheme – is proving very popular since it launched last year.

And just a stone’s throw away, Bowmer + Kirkland is making great progress a new 3,500-capacity performance venue.

From new beginnings to new contracts, during January some of Derby’s major firms continued to land sizeable deals.

Among them was Derby-headquartered healthcare services firm Totally Plc, which won an important £13 million contract extension with the NHS.

Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce announced a major deal with Turkish Airlines.

Rolls-Royce is a company which has experienced many ups and downs over the decades.

But thanks to its innovation – and that word again ‘resilience’ – the engineering giant continues to move forward.

And the city of Derby is right behind it.

We are, as Derby County put it so well, ‘One Club. Resilient. Together’.