Derby retail park to be demolished as 'exciting' plans get nod

Plans to demolish a Derby city centre retail park for hundreds of new homes have been approved by councillors for a second time – despite continued concerns over the height of apartment blocks.

Councillors gave the nod to the “very exciting” project to build almost 500 new homes on the site of Bradshaw Way Retail Park.

The retail park has been part of the city centre for decades and currently is the home of stores such as Matalan and Home Bargains. But it is set to be torn down to make way for a major new regeneration scheme.

The applicant are the owners of Derbion shopping centre – Wilmslow (No.3) Limited Partnership – who want to bring new life into the area. At a planning meeting on Thursday (May 22) councillors criticised the current appearance of the area, saying it was “not the most prettiest”.

The approval of plans is subject to Section 106 agreements – money developers pay towards infrastructure projects – taking place between the applicant and the city council. A more detailed reserved matters planning application, detailing on the specifics of the outline proposal, will be submitted by the applicant in due course.

The subsequent planning application will need to be approved before work can begin.

Plans had been previously agreed by the council’s planning committee in 2023, but the applicant submitted a revised application altering the size of the apartment blocks and the number of homes following concern. Now 478 homes will be built under the latest plans and the development will include commercial space and areas of public green space. There will be 94 car parking spaces provided.

The initial plans caused controversy and objection from Historic England and other bodies with the tallest apartment block proposed being 19 storeys high. But the revised plan shows the tallest building being 15 storeys high. The other buildings proposed will be 13, 12, 9 and 5 storeys high.

There has been concern from the council’s conservation and heritage committee and the Derby Civic Society that the buildings were still considered to be too tall. But the plans have been given the go-ahead despite this.

Councillor Sara Bolton told the committee the plans were needed in Derby. She said: “I think this is a very exciting scheme and it is something we need in that part of the city centre. You have to say that site isn’t the most prettiest as you enter or exit the city. It is a non-brainer.

“There’s a lot happening in the city and we need to keep that momentum going. We need to bring Derby into the top 20 cities in the country – I think that’s aspirational, but we need to see it as a planning committee as well as the council.”

Councillor Martin Rawson added: “I fully welcome this application. It’s a good step forward in terms of improving the aesthetics of the area. It is not great what’s there at the moment and I think this application will substantially improve it.”

Councillor Lucy Care said she too had reservations over the height of the apartment blocks but called for designs and construction work to be of the highest order to mitigate concerns.

In planning documents the applicant stated: “This proposal would provide new high quality homes whilst recognising Derby’s prerequisite needs for bringing people back into the city whilst improving permeability and connections.

“It addresses the important role of mixed uses, active frontage and green space to bring the scheme down to a human scale and create a socio-economically successful city centre.”