Member Article

Plans Revealed for the Development of Becketwell

St James Securities (SJS), a long established, privately owned Leeds-based property developer, is working in partnership with Derby City Council to deliver the comprehensive regeneration of the Becketwell area. This will include a mix of homes, workspace, hotel, retail and leisure uses, along with an exciting new public square for the city.

The regeneration of the Becketwell site is set to deliver a wide range of benefits for the city centre and beyond.

The site of the former Debenhams building on Victoria Street will be the first area to undergo development as the central focus of phase one.

A new residential development will be built, comprising of two buildings, the tallest of which will extend up to 17 storeys in height. This building will contain 220 apartments over a ground floor café and restaurant overlooking the new square.

The smaller building will house 90 apartments over a retail store. In response to local feedback, this building has been carefully designed to retain the curve of the existing buildings to the Victoria Street frontage. Both buildings will have rear decked car parking.

The new public square will be the centrepiece of the proposed development and will be delivered as part of the first phase of development.
It is envisaged that the square will be multi-purpose and become a space where people can pause and relax.

The vision for the wider site is to create a whole new part of the city centre with its own distinct character and identity. This will take the form of a series of buildings, spaces and views that contribute to the attraction and vitality of the city.

The site makes up approximately 3.5% of the city centre. When completed, the entire scheme plans provide over 500 residential units, a new public square, up to 25,000 m2 of business space, hotel, restaurants and cafes and a 500-capacity multi-storey carpark, which will contribute to the reinstation of Summerhill Yard.

The regeneration is expected to bring numerous benefits to the city, including a repopulation of both office workers and residents to the city centre which helps boosting activity beyond traditional retail hours and providing confidence for further new investment in the city centre.

Furthermore, the substantial levels of investment proposed at Becketwell will have a ripple effect which will encourage further investment in surrounding areas of the city.

St James’ Securities have completed many successful projects of this scale, including St Paul’s Place in Sheffield and the award-winning Round Foundry in Leeds.

Commenting on the consultation event, Paul Morris, director of St James Securities, said:

“Since the closure of the former Duckworth Square Shopping Centre in the late 1980’s, a number of proposed developments have been promoted across the site. These range from supermarkets to health-hubs, offices to an ice rink and an urban entertainment centre.

“Fragmented land ownership and the lack of a comprehensive plan/delivery programme ultimately undermined most of those commercial and residential schemes.

“The Becketwell site currently contributes very little to the social, economic or environmental fabric of the city centre. We are determined to realise a vision which is both aspirational and deliverable and would like to encourage local residents and businesses to come and see the proposals and have their say on this spectacular project.

“SJS have successfully delivered similar award-winning developments in other cities and are confident about the potential of Becketwell and the positive impact that a high-quality development can have on the city centre.”

An outline planning application is set to be submitted in May will be accompanied by a range of technical documentation covering matters such as traffic generation and car parking, air quality, ecology, ground contamination, flood risk and drainage assessments.

Subject to planning consent being granted, work on the demolition of the former Debenhams building is set to take place in 2019, with construction work set to commence in the spring of 2020.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Donna Hill .