City Lab exhibition to give people say on city centre vision

A new exhibition by Derby City Council is set to start today at the Derby City Lab, where the public will be able to have their say on a new vision for the city centre.

Taking place at the St James Street venue until Wednesday 31 August, the exhibition aims to offer residents, businesses and visitors the chance to put forward ideas for positive change.

The future of Derby city centre is the subject of a wider conversation launched by the city council in June to get people talking about what they would like to see happen there.

As part of the city’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, and to meet the challenges of the 21st century, the city council has created a new ‘Ambition Document’, which outlines ideas for a bold, transformational vision for Derby city centre.

The vision will focus on longer-term ideas and interventions that will transform the city centre and secure its future as a vibrant place that people can feel proud of and want to visit.

It will recognise the challenges facing all city centres, not just Derby, and provides an over-arching ‘direction-of-travel’ that will inform future plans and actions.

The document is broken down into 12 themes that focus on the main issues facing the city centre and the key areas the city council wants to improve or reimagine.

Councillor Steve Hassall, the city council’s cabinet member for regeneration, decarbonisation, strategic planning and transport, said: “This is a great opportunity for us to hear what Derby’s residents and businesses want and to shape a new vision for how the city should look following the coronavirus pandemic. It’s about improving quality of life for local people.

“We want everyone to play a part in creating that vision by joining the conversation.”

Created thanks to a partnership between the city council, Marketing Derby, the University of Derby and Lathams, Derby City Lab aims to engage, inform and inspire people about plans to shape the city.

Opened in July, the first exhibition to be staged by the lab involved Down to Earth Derby’s vision for a nature-led regeneration of the city.

Derby City Lab is open on Tuesdays, from 10am to 2pm, Wednesdays, from 12noon to 4pm, Thursdays from 2pm to 6pm and Fridays from 10am to 2pm.