A Team of architects, surveyors and engineers who have worked on sports stadia in Dubai and Holland have been chosen to design Derby’s £20 million multi-purpose arena.

Derby City Council has selected Mace to project-manage the design of the building.

The arena will also be able to be transformed into a concert and conference centre for up to 4,000 people.

Mace, which is also in charge of the Council House refurbishment, is bringing together experts from various fields to create the designs for the building which will be on the park-and-ride land at Pride Park.

David Grose, from Mace, said: “Mace is delighted to be entrusted with the delivery of one of Derby’s landmark projects, having beaten off stiff competition from eight other firms.

“It is really encouraging to see Derby investing in its future with key regeneration initiatives such as the arena.

Food lovers have been queuing in the street outside a city cafe which opened just two weeks ago.

Jack Rabbits already had an established shop which specialised in upmarket ingredients.

The delicatessen features a seating area in addition to counters selling cooked meats and around 60 different speciality cheeses.
It also sells fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables, eggs, milk, patisseries and fresh bread from an artisan baker.

Jack Rabbits also continues to produce home-cooked meals at its shop on 50 Queen Street.

It now features a farm house-style interior, in keeping with the rustic feel from its menu.

Jack Rabbits’ cafe was expected to be run with six members of staff. Now Amelia is having to hire more as business grows steadily.

“On our first Saturday we managed to get nine staff together. We could have done with nine more!”

Riverside improvements are the focus of renewed regeneration plans for Derby.

The city council has produced a 15-year outline of how the city centre should be developed.

Richard Williams, director of regeneration at the council, said: “The development of sites along the river is emphasised in this and we can already see work towards that with the refurbishment of the Council House and also, hopefully, work on the former magistrates’ court in Full Street starting soon.”

The regeneration framework is a review and update on a former master plan drawn up by urban regeneration company Cityscape.
That set out key sites which needed to be improved and developed with offices, hotels, homes and shops.

The framework sets out 12 key developments the authority wants to see come to fruition. In many cases, planning permission is already secured.

They include Castleward Urban Village, No 1 Cathedral Green and the Silk Mill.

Businesses in Derby’s St Peters Quarter have voted to pay extra rates and create a pot of money to spend on improving the area.

It means the 500 commercial premises in the area will now pay higher business rates to create a £950,000 regeneration pot. They will now vote to agree where investment is to be made.

Its creation follows Derby’s Cathedral Quarter becoming a BID in 2007.

Changes for the St Peter’s Quarter already announced include improving derelict or vacant shop fronts, promotional campaigns and street art. There are plans for additional cleaning more street furniture and festive lighting.

Rangers will also be brought in to welcome visitors to the area, act as guides.

Training and support will also be offered to businesses.

An upmarket restaurant chain is to open a huge 500-seater outlet in Derby’s Riverlights complex.

It will be the biggest restaurant yet for Jimmy Spices, which has built its name serving global cuisine.

It has 10 branches across the country and hopes the one it is planning to open in the riverside complex in November will create up to 60 jobs.

Derby City Council leader Philip Hickson said it would complement the £400,000 improvements the authority is making to the River Gardens, which include new seating, street lighting and paving.
“I think this is tremendous news and it will act as a catalyst for other businesses to come into the area,” he said.

Amandeep Uppal, food and beverage director at the chain, said the company was excited about its plans for the huge, open-plan restaurant.

“Derby has been on our radar for a while because there is nothing similar to what we offer in the city,” he said.