Welcome to our website about the Derbion’s emerging plans for the future.
Derbion is developing a masterplan for the future potential of two key sites within its footprint: the Eagle Quarter (made up of the current Eagle Market and Derby Theatre), and Bradshaw Way Retail Park.
Whilst Derbion, as a major retail and leisure venue, continues to evolve with ongoing investment in new brands and customer experiences, together with projects such as the proposed Eastern Gateway, it’s important to also look further ahead to ensure that Derbion can fulfil its potential in the heart of the city.
The Derbion Masterplan will deliver a framework for longer-term development potential that complements and supports the existing centre and its significant position within Derby. It is a starting point for exploring future opportunities over the next 10 years and beyond that will benefit both Derbion and the ongoing regeneration of Derby City Centre as envisioned by the Council.
A new vision for the city centre
Derby City Council is developing a new vision to ensure the City Centre responds to the changing needs of how we live in the 21st century. The vision addresses several themes, including:
- Shopping and leisure – greater diversification of uses and focusing retailing into smaller, more concentrated areas is required.
- City living – providing opportunities to live will bring more people and vibrancy into the City Centre and help to support local businesses.
- Business and creativity – there is growing desire from businesses for a City Centre location in high quality modern accommodation.
- Design quality – new buildings and other development will need to be of a consistently high quality to improve the environment in the City Centre.
- Public realm – high quality, welcoming public spaces and more public realm is needed and are essential to the future success of the of the City Centre.
The Council has identified Derbion as one of several Character Areas in the City Centre. Others include the Historic Core, Riverside and new development cores at Castleward and Nightingale Quarter. Within the Derbion Character Area, the Council has identified the Eagle Quarter and the Bradshaw Way site as key areas of change. The Derbion Masterplan presents Derbion’s emerging ideas and proposals in response to the Council’s exciting vision for the future of the City Centre.
Eagle Quarter
The Existing Site
The Eagle Quarter is made up of the current Eagle Market and Derby Theatre. The existing market building is monolithic and poorly integrated with its surroundings. It presents a barrier to movement, including to and from the River Derwent.
Derby Theatre is adjacent to the Eagle Market. The theatre has recently signalled its ambition to relocate to another site in Derby, although there is also potential to include the theatre site within future development at Derbion.
The Proposed Site
Phase one of the Eagle Quarter development is already being considered within the proposed Eastern Gateway project on part of the existing Eagle Market site. This project received funding from the Future High Streets Fund in 2021 to assist in transforming the site into a new welcoming arrival from the bus station.
The proposals will improve public access from the bus station, build a new entrance to Derbion on East Street, add additional shops and leisure outlets and create a new public boulevard. A planning application for this element of the Derbion Masterplan was submitted to Derby City Council on 21 November 2022.
The masterplan includes new homes and commercial uses with new public spaces and walkable streets that will integrate the site with the rest of the City Centre and improve new connections to the river. There is scope to introduce some tall buildings to make better use of the site with new food and beverage, leisure and other activity at ground floor level. The proposals will contribute towards the Council’s vision in a way that responds positively to the site context including surrounding character areas.
Key components of the Derbion Masterplan for the Eagle Quarter include:
- – The masterplan shows there may be the potential to provide approximately 850 new City Centre homes through the introduction of some taller buildings. The new buildings will be designed to a high standard and maximise views towards the river.
Commercial uses – New food and beverage, leisure and other new activities at ground floor will diversify the uses in this part of the City Centre and help create a vibrant new place.
Green Heart – A Green Heart will be the focal point of the new development. A big green space with an entrance to Derbion, it will be a new place for everyone to enjoy.
- – A new Green Boulevard is proposed to link the development from Morledge in the north to the Green Heart in the centre of the site. New walkable streets will significantly improve accessibility within and around this area of the City Centre including to the River Derwent.
Gateway development – The masterplan increases the height of new buildings towards the east of the site with a new landmark building proposed in the eastern corner, marking the gateway into the hear
Bradshaw Way
The Existing Site
The existing retail warehouses resemble an out-of-town style of development with low rise industrial-style buildings surrounded by car parking. It is an under-utilised site in a gateway location on the southern edge of the City Centre.
Existing shops on the site may need to be relocated to other accommodation in the City Centre, responding to the Council’s aim of focussing retailing into smaller, more concentrated areas.
The Proposed Site
The Derbion Masterplan proposes to transform the Bradshaw Way Retail Park by providing new homes and offices surrounded by new public open spaces when the site becomes available for redevelopment in the future.
The masterplan shows there may be the potential to provide approximately 400 new homes and new office and commercial space by redeveloping the site and the introduction of some taller buildings.
There is an opportunity to improve the connections to the Nightingale Quarter and significantly improve views across the site from Bradshaw Way and the south of the site. The proposals will contribute towards the Council’s vision in a way that responds positively to the site context including surrounding character areas.
Have Your Say
This website has been designed to provide you with information about the proposed development and enables you to submit feedback on the proposals.
We asked for all feedback to be submitted by the 19th December and this this has now been closed.
We will use the comments we receive to help finalise our proposals which we hope to present to Derby City Council, in the form of two outline planning applications (one per site), in the New Year.
The detailed design of the buildings and public spaces would be the subject of further reserved matters planning submissions in the future, as the sites become available for re-development.
We held a public consultation event on Friday 2 December from 11am – 4pm and on Saturday 3 December from 11am – 3pm. The information that was provided at the event is held on this website.
