© Derby City Council
The long-awaited development and regeneration plans will reach a climax in Derby’s city centre this Spring when a £35.1m new-look Market Hall and the new £45.8m Becketwell Live entertainment venue open their doors to the public.
Located close to one another, the two new attractions will not only change the city’s skyline but also put it firmly in the frame when it comes to looking for UK city break destinations in 2025 and beyond.
Derby’s refurbished Victorian Market Hall is set to bring together the best of the region’s independent shopping, eating, drinking and entertainment to the city centre. More than ‘just’ a market – which has been on this site in the city centre since its opening on 29 May 1866 – the majestic Victorian building will now become a venue and social hub, as well as an attraction in its own right.
Still offering traditional market stalls with locally grown fresh produce, the new-look Market will feature a cosmopolitan food court, drinks areas, make-and-trade stalls, and a creative space. It will also host workshops, a full calendar of events, and endless pop-up activities. Once it has been reopened to the public in May 2025, the Market will become “the ultimate independent hangout” in the city centre: a seven-days-a-week destination for Derbyshire’s culinary and creative businesses, housing nearly 50 independent traders. Much of it has been ‘curated’, with the newly assembled management team actively seeking out producers and makers who will help to make it feel “Very Derby”.
Recreated in the style of the very best of the new breed street food halls and markets which are now popping-up across the UK – including ‘Mackie Mayor’ in Manchester, and ‘Alty Market’ in Altringham – Derby Market Hall will also play a key role in widening the diversity of the city centre and in generating an estimated £3.64m for the local economy every year.
Hemmingway Design have been brought on board to help with the task of giving the whole place the look and feel of Derby. Best known, perhaps, for his fashion brand Red or Dead, Wayne Hemingway, now a partner at Hemingway Design, says: “This is an opportunity for forward-thinking independent start-ups and existing businesses to be part of a project and creative community that will operate out of this magnificently restored, historic Derby building and play a role in re-energising this part of the city centre”.
The appearance of Becketwell Live, meanwhile, is a significant step forward in the journey to transform Derby into a vibrant city centre with culture at its heart. Boasting a larger and more flexible space than the city centre has had in the past, it will be capable of staging a range of concerts, stand-up comedy, family shows and musical theatre, as well as conferences, exhibitions and events, to an audience of up to 3,500 people. It’s anticipated to host over 200 cultural and commercial events each year, attracting an additional 250,000 visitors to Derby city centre annually.
© Becketwell Live
The project forms the second phase of the £230 million Becketwell regeneration scheme, which is being led by property developer St James Securities who are now delivering on the vision to create a place where people can ‘live, work and play’.
The new, state-of-the-art performance and meetings venue is now being described as an “absolute game-changer” for the city centre. And the fact that ASM Global, a world leader in operating venues, is involved is another first for Derby.
The two projects are also seen as part of a far wider city centre transformation, thanks to a regeneration project that has featured around £4.48bn of investment in the city’s infrastructure since 2011—with a further £2.6bn already earmarked for future development.
For further information about Derby as a visitor destination, see www.visitderby.co.uk
For more on Becketwell Live visit: https://becketwelllive.co.uk/events/ and for more on the Market Hall see https://www.derbymarkethall.co.uk
