Derbyshire buildings news, Derby architecture designs

Derbyshire Buildings News: Architecture Designs

24 June 2026

Derbion Masterplan News

Architecture: Leonard Design Architects

Plans approved for nearly 1,200 homes across Derby city centre

‘Derbion Masterplan’ will bring forward new homes, commercial space and public space improvements at Eagle Quarter and Bradshaw Way

Shopping centre owner Derbion has secured planning permission for two major regeneration sites in Derby city centre, paving the way for 1,152 homes and around 3,500 sq m of commercial space on under-used land around Derbion.

The Derbion Masterplan covers the former Eagle Market site, now known as Eagle Quarter, and Bradshaw Way Retail Park. Together, the schemes will bring new homes, public space, commercial uses and improved links across two prominent city centre locations.

National planning and development consultancy Lichfields led the planning process and secured consent for both regeneration schemes on behalf of the owners of Derbion Shopping Centre, having advised on the site since 2014.

Both schemes required careful consideration because of their city centre locations, nearby listed buildings and the need to ensure new development sat comfortably within views connected to the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.

Eagle Quarter, granted outline permission in June 2026, will redevelop the former Eagle Market site to provide building up to 19 storeys, 674 homes, new commercial space and a large public square, creating a new entrance to the retained Derby Theatre and improving links towards the River Derwent.

The scheme includes the Green Heart, a new landscaped space connecting Derbion, Derby Theatre and Morledge through a green boulevard. New walkable streets, ground-floor food and beverage, leisure and town centre uses are also planned, alongside a landmark building at the eastern corner of the site.

Bradshaw Way, which was approved in October 2025, will replace an existing retail park, currently dominated by low-rise retail units and surface parking, with buildings up to 14 storeys, with 478 homes and ground-floor commercial units.

The professional team behind the project includes Leonard Design Architects, Eurofund Group, Currie & Brown, Bidwells and Waterman.

Alison Bembenek, Associate Director, Lichfields, said: “These approvals mark an important step in the major city centre regeneration around Derbion.

“The sites are important city centre sites, and the planning case had to deal carefully with heritage, townscape, design, viability and public benefit. Our role was to bring those strands together, working closely with Derby City Council and Historic England, and provide a clear route through a complex planning process.

“The permissions show how a joined-up planning strategy can support new homes, commercial space and public realm improvements. The development will bring new footfall and revitalisation to Derby Centre, supporting its longer-term success, whilst respecting the city’s historic context.”

It builds on the Eastern Gateway scheme, approved in May 2024, which forms the first phase of Eagle Quarter. Supported by the Future High Streets Fund, the scheme is delivering public space improvements at East Street and Morledge. It has also brought the former market hall back into temporary use, with padel courts and a skatepark helping to attract people to the area ahead of longer-term redevelopment.

Alberto Esguevillas CEO UK, Eurofund Group, which is acting as development manager, said: “The Derbion Masterplan is about making better use of land in a key part of Derby city centre. Eagle Quarter and Bradshaw Way will introduce new homes, public spaces and commercial uses in locations that are well placed to support the wider city centre.

“Lichfields has played a central role in guiding the planning strategy and helping us bring forward proposals that respond to Derby, its heritage and its long-term growth.”

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Derbyshire Building News

Derbyshire Architecture News – latest additions to this page, arranged chronologically:

29 Apr 2022
Ravine House, Chesterfield, Derbyshire
Design: Chiles Evans + Care Architects

photos © Dug Wilder
This house demonstrates how sustainable practice can be thoughtfully integrated with restoration and renewal, serving as an exemplar of how an architect can respond to a brief with both respect and invention. The jury is delighted to award this project a Regional Award.

29 Apr 2022
Ada Belfield Centre and Belper Library
Design: Glancy Nicholls Architects

photos © Verity Milligan
The Ada Belfield Centre and Belper Library form a project that addresses several pressing issues in the contemporary built environment. It transforms the derelict backland industrial site of the former Thorntons chocolate factory within the Derwent Valley Mills UNESCO World Heritage Site, reconnecting it to the vitality of the high street.

29 Apr 2022
Derwent Valley Villa, Duffield, Derbyshire
Design: Blee Halligan

photo © Henry Woide
This modern Derbyshire house is deliberately composed as a series of shifted elements, with the entry court and guest wing anchored in the southeast corner, and the main living spaces pushed to the northwest. This arrangement establishes a clear promenade from arrival through to a striking willow beyond the main living room, passing garden courts on either side of a glazed link that separates the two wings.

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Derbyshire Building Designs 2018 to 2020

English architectural developments in the Peak District, northern England in 2020:

21 Feb 2020
Charlesworth Passivhaus

image courtesy of architecture office
Studio Tashkeel Architecture have released plans and progress of the most environmentally focussed new build ‘Passivhaus’ the region has ever seen, taking the concept of energy retention to a whole new level, rarely seen in the UK.

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UK built environment designs in 2018:

24 Sep 2018
New Derbyshire Residential Accommodation Building

STRUCTURAL SOLUTION HELPS CUT COSTS FOR MAJOR REFURBISHMENT PROJECT

A comprehensive survey and design exercise by a leading structural engineering practice has helped reduce costs and transform a disused mill into a luxurious new residential accommodation building.

Greater Manchester-based Rhodes & Partners undertook the work on the Grade II listed building in Derbyshire, and devised a solution which helped minimise the need for costly temporary work by utilising as much of the original structure as possible.

A comprehensive survey and design exercise by structural engineers Rhodes & Partners helped reduce costs and transform a disused Grade II listed mill into a luxurious new residential accommodation building:

image courtesy of architecture office

Rhodes & Partners’ Technical Director, Peter Graham, explains that a good proportion of the building was derelict and it appeared that a significant amount of temporary works would be needed for the restoration. “Part of the structure had suffered a high degree of deflection, but we were able to design a detailed system of cross-bracing which stabilised the building and allowed the refurbishment to proceed.

“We worked with the property developer and the contractor to devise a structural engineering design that would allow as much as possible of the original structure to be repaired rather than replaced. This eliminated a significant amount of the temporary works which would otherwise have been needed. There were obviously some areas where we had to make compromises, but the end result was far more cost-effective than the alternative.”

A river runs directly below the mill in a series of channels, and the potential for flooding was a major consideration. “Our design proposal included the cleaning out of the channels, some of which had failed.” adds Peter. “By re-using these channels, we were able to ensure a flow capacity that was more than adequate, even in flood conditions, so that the river could remain undisturbed beneath the building.

“A major project such as this is always challenging and complex, but we have considerable experience in working with all the various parties involved and creating successful solutions,” concludes Peter. “Where a building such as this has a Grade II listing there are obviously many restrictions that have to be observed, but we were still able to create a detailed structural engineering design that helped ensure a successful outcome.”

The completed development now offers a selection of luxury apartments.

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Derbyshire Architecture News 2013 to 2017

4 Oct 2017
Derby Swimming Pool Complex
Design: FaulknerBrowns Architects

image from architects practice
Derby City Council has unveiled ambitious plans for a state-of-the-art swimming and leisure facility designed by international design practice FaulknerBrowns Architects. The facility, which is being project managed by Mace, is planned as a replacement swimming pool complex alongside the Moorways Athletic Stadium.

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8 Sep 2016
Lilas Pavilion at Chatsworth House, Bakewell
Design: Zaha Hadid Architects – ZHA

image from architects
The ‘Lilas Pavilion’ is exhibited as part of ‘Sotheby’s Beyond Limits’.

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15 Jul 2013
400 Hall Theatre
Design: Avery Associates

photo : Tim Soar
very Associates Architects’ new 400 Hall Theatre at Repton School has just won a Royal Institute of British Architects East Midlands Regional Award, and its Building of the Year Award, the top prize for the region. Last year, it won the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Design and Innovation Award and the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists Gold Award for Technical Excellence.