Summary
FINALLY Derby's malaise hits the national press - this city ranks number one in the table of towns/cities with the most vacant shops (see editor's note). I understand that Westfield has a 10% vacancy rate and the rest of the city has a 20% vacancy rate. Yet hotel- building continues apace. For what? Mr Forkin of marketing Derby contested the latest figures but said if they were realistic then Marketing Derby would have to double its efforts to secure more business and shoppers footfall in the city. Weren't they doing that before? Why should shoppers come here? What do we offer? Nottingham has a riverside festival but our council can't afford an annual carnival. Our heritage isn't marketable if they can spend millions on a swing bridge used by 10 people an hour but can't afford (or won't afford) to refurbish Friargate bridge, used by a fifth of the traffic leaving Derby.
The Hippodrome in its current state would not have lain in disrepair for so long if it had been in the west end of London, yet firms are expected to move into shops alongside a hideous mess without a murmur. What cloud cuckoo land are our councillors living in? They are interested in "sexy" projects like the Quad and swing bridge and Westfield, yet ignore Duckworth Square, Green Lane and Friargate Bridge.See the full content of this document
Extract
We Deserve City to Be Proud Of
They're putting a pretty band-aid plaster over a ...
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