What's happening to Historic Derby? How the Chavs are taking over the city's architecture. |
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Derby is currently undergoing a massive re-development programme. This is seen by those responsible as "The way forward". Unfortunately the planners and developers have tried to do too much at a single stroke, thus causing damaging disruption to the city's commerce. Why do the Cityscape Planners appear to have no respect for Derby's heritage and cultural history? As they place inappropriate developments within our conservation areas and areas of historical interest. |
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Ford Street Development - a Concrete Shed! |
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CityScape "Flagship" building, "Friar Gate Studios" the empty completed concrete shed on Ford Street. Built next to an area which had been previously identified as one of the most attractive Georgian streets in the UK. This is supposed to house new IT and Media based enterprises, earning the city council hundreds of thousands of pounds per year. Prediction? It will fail and will cost the council tax payers hundreds of thousands of pounds per year. A letter to the Derby Evening Telegraph's opinion page (Friday November 17 2006) from a prospective company owner looking to relocate to the building, offers the following comments: "We were full of high expectations but were bitterly disappointed to find a shell of a building that looked more like a cheap college than a creative business development". the author of the letter goes on to describe the breeze block walls and the bright red handrails that would be more in keeping with a late 1980s development, and does not reflect the rental costs. The author also says the building looks more like a prison. He then goes on to say that he believes that the council will have a job trying to attract anyone to the site. Sadly this would appear to be the standard of building work set by Cityscape and we can expect to see more and more of this kind of thing. The Quad will no doubt reflect the poor standards set by this hopeless edifice, Riverlights will also be a cheap late 1980s design, lots of glass and steel, sharp corners and jagged edges. The new Westfield development at the Eagle Centre is going woefully wrong, take a look HERE to see what must is probably one of Derby's worst ever architectural blunders |
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The Impressive New Eagle Centre Development |
Read my article, Derby Developments, (part) published by the Derby Trader |
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Below are some digitally created examples of what the planners are proposing |
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This is our current beautiful Iron Gate, one of the oldest streets in Derby with its 15th century Cathedral Tower. Below is an impression of what Iron Gate would look like if the proposal to build a multi-storey hotel on a site behind the cathedral were to succeed. |
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Is this the "Master plan" Cityscape is so proud to talk about. Graphics by Chris Harris, March 2006 © Chris Harris 2006 Iron Gate is the site of our city's historical origins, once the location of Northworthy, a Saxon settlement that merged with Deoraby, A Viking settlement, (pronounced Darby) to form the town of Derby. The 15th century Cathedral Tower has always been seen as the tallest and historically important part of our city's landscape.
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Below: the River Derwent with a view of the World Heritage Site, the Silk Mill is hidden by trees in the foreground. |
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Below: the same view as it will be when Cityscape have completed their redevelopment of the northern end of the city. Derby has been praised for its "low rise" developments, described as the city's greatest asset, giving it a unique style surpassing other Midland cities. Now the planners and developers to destroy this asset with high-rise apartments and office blocks. |
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High-Rise Hell, the Cityscape vision for Derby? Graphics by Chris Harris, March 2006 © Chris Harris 2006 |
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The much loathed Cockpitt Island Car Park Hailed as an architectural success by the Planners! Who also claim that it fits in with the "Cityscape Master plan" Yet this building has made it to number seven in the Architectural Blunders of the East Midlands! |
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The Quad Experience a £10 million White Elephant? Below is the current view of the historic Market Place with the Assembly Rooms eyesore behind us. |
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The Market Place showing the last of the historic buildings unspoiled by the chav style of the opposite side of the Market Place. |
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| The Quad arts Centre may be something the city needs, but why does the design have to clash with the historic buildings on this side of the Market Place. This impression is not quite right as the new obstruction will be four stories high and will block the view of the Guild Hall clock from Corporation Street as well as block out the open view we have at the moment (see photo above this). The colour scheme is totally out of keeping with anything in the area and looks like it was designed by someone with a serious mental disorder. Incidentally Quad is the old slang expression for a prison! | |
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Architectural disaster, the much hated Quad appears to be rising out of the depths of hell to end to what was left of the trmaining attractive portion of the Market Place |
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The QUAD blocks the view of the Guildhall from the junction of Exeter Street and Corporation Street. The Royal Oak is now totally obscured! It is notable that more objections were received to this building than support. The media spin on the QUAD gives no indication of the level of public contempt for this monstrosity. he majority of Public opinion appears to be against the building, but Derby is run by what has been described as "an elected dictatorship" so we can expect no less from our council. |
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See the LIVE Webcam view of the new eyesore and watch as the hideous design develops into yet another of Derby's architectural blunders. You can't miss the BOX on the horizon behind the structure - oh what are the planners thinking? |
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The huge TV screen which appears to be a vain attempt to hide one of our previous architectural disasters, the grubby little corner of the Market Place occupied by the Tourist Information Office. |
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| Derby has some of the finest examples of architecture dating back from the 16th century to the 21st century. We have Elizabethan, Georgian, Victorian, Classical Greco Roman, Art Deco and new Elizabethan. The year 2006 brings in a new architectural style that would be best described as "Chav" | |
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new development will be the most obtrusive of all the
"Chav" designs the city will have to endure, however there
are serious concerns over the viability of the project.
1 It is to be built in one of the most notorious high risk flood areas in Derby as can be confirmed by the Environment Agency's flood risk information, enter the post code DE1 1BA into the flood risk box and select "View Map". 2 The bus station is built over a gravel substrata that allows the overflow from the river to disperse into the Mill Fleam, so how can they even consider an underground car park? 3 The Eagle Centre basement car park frequently floods, yet this is further from the river than Riverlights will be. 4 The substrata is unreliable, even the council house basement has been flooded over the past 50 years. 5 The Markeaton Brook flows under the Bus Station site, do they intend to divert it? if so at what cost? 6 Riverlights will depend on the success of bars and restaurants. There are over 300 bars and restaurants within the City of Derby and a further 29 are planned for the Eagle Centre across the road, who in their right mind would take the risk of investing in more such establishments within an already dubious development? 7 A Casino has been proposed for the site, this would be the main-stay of the site's credibility. However Derby was not one of the cities selected for a Super Casino licence, therefore we will be getting a small gambling establishment. |
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The not so Impressive New Eagle Centre Development |
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