Derby City Council's Commitment to Historic Buildings Preservation

Strategic Insights -

Derby City Council has taken a proactive approach in preserving historic buildings, working with owners, developers, and businesses to promote positive use, reuse, and conversion of these buildings throughout the city. Despite the challenges of repairing and restoring historic structures, the Council's commitment remains unwavering. The Council's efforts are evident in several key projects, including the refurbishment of the Grade II Listed Market Hall, the restoration of The Silk Mill, and the £75m Friar Gate Goods Yard scheme.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Council works with owners, architects, and developers to help repair and restore historic buildings and develop proposals for creative new uses.
  • The Council's collaborative approach is crucial in conserving historic buildings, as the vast majority are privately owned and there is no legal requirement for owners to keep them in a good state of repair.
  • The Council has provided £5000 of funding to the Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust to expand their Buildings at Risk survey to cover Derby City.
  • The Vacant to Vibrant programme directly targets empty properties in the city centre, particularly within the Cathedral Quarter, providing crucial funding to owners to bring historic buildings back into use.
  • Over three quarters of Derby's listed buildings have been surveyed to date, providing a valuable resource for the Council and others to target buildings most in need of urgent attention.
  • The Council has worked with private sector developers to restore and regenerate over a dozen properties along St James Street, transforming The Tramshed into office space and repurposing unused upper floors.
  • The Council uses a targeted approach to tackle the most neglected properties, rather than a city-wide scattergun approach.

Statistics:

  • £75m: The estimated cost of the Friar Gate Goods Yard scheme.
  • 110,000 sq ft: The planned commercial space to be created as part of the Friar Gate Goods Yard scheme.
  • 276: The number of new homes to be provided as part of the Friar Gate Goods Yard scheme.
  • £5000: The amount of funding provided by the Council to the Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust.
  • 40: The number of volunteers recruited and trained by the Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust to record and categorise buildings based on their state of repair.
  • 75%: The proportion of Derby's listed buildings that have been surveyed to date.

Sources:

  • City of Derby
  • MIL-OSI Publisher
  • Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust
  • Derby City Council Leader, Councillor Nadine Peatfield.