Derby City Lab to host new design guide consultation

The Derby City Lab is set to host a consultation by Derby City Council, which aims to gather views on a new design guide, which outlines a vision for a vibrant and sustainable city centre.

The City Centre Design Guide (CCDG) consultation invites views from both built environment professionals and local residents.

Created by Urban Initiatives Studio on behalf of the city council, and funded by Homes England, the CCDG outlines a vision, which aims to ensure that new developments, public spaces, and residential areas enhance the evolving and ambitious city centre and support its long-term growth.

Derby City Lab, which can be found on Level 2 of the Derbion shopping centre, will host the design guide consultation from Tuesday 22 October to Wednesday 13 November.

In addition, drop-in sessions will be held at the lab, where council officers working on the project will be present between 10am and 4pm.

The sessions will be held on Tuesday 22 October and Wednesday 13 November.

The design guide follows on from the ‘Towards A New Vision for Derby City Centre Ambition’ document, published in 2022, which highlighted the need to improve the design quality of the city centre and to meet the needs of its growing population.

The aim of the CCDG is to ensure that new building developments, public spaces, and residential areas all contribute to Derby’s unique character and sustainability.

Divided into two sections, the first section of the guide offers general design principles for developers.

The second section offers comprehensive design guidance specific to the different character areas of the city centre.

It further provides guidance on building scale, land use, movement, facades, public spaces, and green infrastructure.

Councillor Nadine Peatfield, city council leader and cabinet member for city centre, regeneration, strategy and policy, said: “We encourage everyone to take part in the consultation and to have their say on the future of our beautiful city.

“The launch of the new City Centre Design Guide marks an exciting time for the future of Derby’s city centre.

“It is an essential part of our long-term strategy to turn the city centre into a vibrant, welcoming place with high-quality sustainable developments where people can live, work and spend their free time.”

As well as visiting the lab, people can have their say by taking two surveys, which have been created on the Let’s Talk Derby website.

The first survey asks for general, anonymous views, while the second aims to record comments on specific sections of the guide and is not anonymous.

The deadline for feedback is 5pm on Monday 13 January.

For more information about the Derby City Lab, including how to plan your visit, go to https://derbycitylab.com/.