by Russell Rigby, Director at Rigby & Co. – Commercial Property Consultant.

AS the commercial property market continues to recover, an unlikely area of the city is about to assume the mantle of the “next big thing”. It doesn’t have an obviously identifiable name; rather it is the eastern side of the city centre, running from the inner ring road and Westfield towards the rail station.

A number of short and long-term regeneration projects are converging to radically transform a part of the city, which in recent years has seen little investment and has created few headlines. However, without yet having laid a single brick, both Compendium’s Castleward Urban Village scheme and Derby Hospital Trust’s Nightingale Quarter schemes have already generated substantial interest.

Compendium believes its plan to transform the Castleward estate is challenging but eminently deliverable.

The Nightingale Quarter, the site that was once home to the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, will move into its next stage of development in the next month or so, once a few planning issues have been resolved. Both schemes are being talked about in national property circles and both have the potential to create sustainable new locations for both businesses and residents.

Over the past few years, Derby station, which provides the eastern side of the city centre with a transport hub, has seen significant and much-needed investment. The station is now something to be proud of and not ashamed about, which was the case prior to the investment. Buildings in the east-of-city-centre zone previously thought to be either redundant or failing are now being talked about in a far more positive light.

Just last week it was announced that St Andrew’s House in London Road is to form the first phase of a new Free School for this side of Derby, thus regenerating a failed 1960s Government building that had been empty or underused for some time.

Next to St Andrew’s House is Midland House, whose new owners are skilfully repositioning the identity of the building and improving its quality in order to offer the market high-quality corporate offices on very sensible rental terms. A planning application is also being prepared which will lead to redevelopment to the rear of the former Nightingale House on London Road.

Again, its new owner, First Urban Properties, is investing considerably in both the building and the site to take advantage of the shifting level of confidence in the area. Rigby & Co. is currently advising the owners of Midland House, Nightingale House and Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Published in Business Weekly, Derby Telegraph on Wednesday 18th April 2012.

by John Forkin.

The future of the great British High Street is threatened by climate change.

Not the environmental global warming-driven type but the threat of a structural attrition rooted in a retail recession, changing customer expectations and the internet. Many of the vacant shops, now a feature of every town and city, will possibly never be filled as they were before. Reports addressing this crisis are being launched on a regular basis.

Last week, property consultancy BNP Parisbas Real Estate produced a national retail risk index that illustrated the extent of the divide between the south east and the rest of the country. Disturbingly, both Derby and Nottingham were put in the highest risk category.

The Local Data Company, which tracks retail vacancies, has launched a town tool kit full of ideas on how to help tackle the decline. The Prime Minister asked TV’s self-styled queen of shops, Mary Portas, to take a look and her recent report included recommendations ranging from creating special town teams to establishing a national markets day.

The past few weeks have seen the collapse of more big-name retailers such as Game and Peacocks. So, what can be done to rethink the future of the high street – or should anything be done? It’s my belief that the high street is an essential part of the urban experience.

All cities grew from their historic core and today the city centre gives character and identity to a place. When we travel to another city, whether it’s York or Rome, we automatically gravitate to its main centre and seek to experience what is special about that place.

There will be international brands we expect everywhere but also the shops and cafes unique to that area – customers want both. The four quarters in Derby’s city centre all reflect different periods of growth.

The soon-to-be-revitalised Riverside is the reason why a settlement was first established, having been a crossing point in the river.

The Cathedral Quarter is the historic core that grew with Derby as a market town, St Peter’s reflects the post-war high street boom and Westfield is a 21st-century response to retail globalisation.

So, what of the future?

The recession will one day end but we will never go back to 2005. The internet will continue to grow and customers will become even more fussy when choosing where and how to spend their leisure time. And that’s the key for me, recognition that a visit to a town or city centre is now a primarily a leisure activity.

It’s a matter of choice, not convenience. We want centres to be easily accessible, attractive, clean, safe and vibrant. We desire an ambience that mixes shopping with eating, relaxing, resting and culture. We want the whole experience to be interesting.

Most of all, we want shops to be open when we need them to be open. That is the most singular failure of the high street today is that most stores open as you arrive at work and close as you leave. It is as if they have designed their opening hours to exclude any potential customers who are employed.

Mary Portas has fallen into the trap of thinking a solution lies in more planning, regulation and marketing. Well Mary, here is a 29th recommendation. Maybe shops should open when customers are able to shop?

Published in Business Weekly, Derby Telegraph on Wednesday 4th April 2012.

Photos of Derby by Tristan Poyser