Works underway on exciting city centre transformation
Published: 3 February 2023
Representatives from Derby City Council and Eurovia at Babbington Lane.
Work has started to transform a series of key city centre streets as part of a range of improvements in Derby.
Representatives from Derby City Council and Eurovia, the contractors for the scheme, visited the site in January to mark the start of the works.
The exciting improvements around St Peter’s Street, Gower Street and Babington Lane will see a raft of upgrades to the streets and footpaths in the area, geared towards delivering better transport choices for the Derby.
Councillor Steve Hassall, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Decarbonisation, Strategic Planning & Transport at Derby City Council, said:
This is an exciting scheme with reducing pollution and congestion a key component.
These works represent just a part of our continued commitment to improving the travel experience in Derby City Centre for everyone. We want to provide more options that are both easier to access and better to use.
The hard work doesn’t end with this scheme. Further works are planned or under way in other areas of the city as we strive to deliver further improvements and better transport for the city.
Making active travel, such as walking and cycling, easier is central to these works, with wider cycle lanes, better cycle parking, and improved crossings all being installed in the area. The pavements in this area are also particularly bad for wheelchair and mobility scooter users and the Council has worked with its Access, Equality and Inclusion Hub members to ensure they are much easier to use. Other access improvements include wider pavements, the removal of unnecessary street furniture and the provision of new Blue Badge holder parking bays on Gower Street, with the possibility of making some of these bays suitable for Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs).
The environmental benefits of the scheme will also become clear as works progress. Road traffic and public transport will benefit from upgraded infrastructure to reduce congestion, including upgraded bus bays and loading bays. New trees and Bee Bus Stops, which have already been installed in other parts of the city, will also be added in the area.
Matthew Stubbings, Regional Manager for Eurovia Contracting, said:
We are delighted to be working as partners with Derby City Council to provide these exciting improvement works in the city centre. With the continued support from the people of Derby we will deliver a very much improved street scene for the long term benefit of everyone in the city.
These works are part of Nottingham and Derby’s Transforming Cities programme, funded by the Department of Transport and delivered by Eurovia on behalf of Derby City Council.
Working in partnership, Nottingham City and Derby City Councils secured £161 million from the Department for Transport to invest in local transport infrastructure that will improve sustainable transport, support growth, and encourage more low carbon journeys.