A £10 million regeneration project has been unveiled, breathing new life into the heart of Derby city centre.
Developer St James Street (Derby) Ltd, working in partnership with Derby City Council, has launched ambitious plans to restore, regenerate and revitalise more than a dozen properties on St James Street, one of the city’s most historically significant but underused areas.
The developer acquired the properties from Clowes Developments in summer 2024, supported by Derby City Council and the Government’s Future High Streets Fund (FHSF).
The properties comprise a mix of long-term vacant ground floor shops and extensive redundant upper floor spaces.
Marc and Rebecca Brough, owners of the development company, recently acquired Allestree Hall from Derby City Council and are also founders of Cubo, the flex office company.
St James Street has long been considered an ‘at risk’ street, with vacancy rates consistently exceeding 50%. However, with the opening of the city’s brand-new live entertainment venue, Vaillant Live, and the restored Derby Market Hall, the street is set to gain enhanced visibility and footfall.
Beginning with the transformation of The Tramshed, a disused historic warehouse space, into Grade A office space, the scheme aims to completely overhaul ground-floor retail units and repurpose extensive, unused upper floors.
A planning application is now ready to be submitted to create 29 apartments on the upper floors of the properties, stretching from The Strand to the end of St James Street, as well as new shopfronts on the vacant ground floor units.
Future phases include plans to rejuvenate St James’s Yard and reinstate the pedestrian link from Sadler Gate through to St James Street.
Rigby & Co acted on behalf of St James Street (Derby) Ltd to acquire the site from Clowes Developments.
Marc Brough said: “We opened the first Cubo flexible office space at the corner of St James Street in 2020 and it has saddened me to see how this once-thriving street has become so run down and neglected since then.
“As a company we are committed to breathing new life into these buildings – bringing long term vacant buildings back into economic use, driving higher footfall and vibrancy and creating a vibrant environment that will benefit businesses, residents and visitors.
“We could not have embarked on this journey without the unwavering support from Derby City Council and their extended team and partners who have played a key role in helping bring our vision to life through the Future High Streets Fund.”
Councillor Nadine Peatfield, leader of Derby City Council and cabinet member for city centre, regeneration, strategy and policy, said: “We were thrilled to partner with St James Street (Derby) Ltd on this project to revitalise this key area of our city centre. The team have made rapid progress and we’re looking forward to seeing the first phase of the scheme come to life.
“Working closely with our partners, we’ve been able to make great progress in revitalising areas of our city centre. St James Street is a prime example of how, by collaborating with private sector partners, we can bring our vision for a vibrant city centre to life.”
Commercial property and regeneration specialists Rigby & Co acted for St James Street (Derby) Ltd in acquiring the properties from Clowes Developments.
Russell Rigby, managing director of Rigby & Co, said: “This is a massive shot in the arm for Derby city centre – the scheme needs vision, pace, experience and a ‘can-do’ attitude to overcome a number of barriers which have previously held this street back from releasing its full potential.”
A grant of £2m has been made to the scheme by Derby City Council with funding from the Government’s Future High Streets Fund (FHSF).
