Work re-starts on £150m city centre scheme

Wavensmere Homes, the developers behind the £150m build in Derby city centre, has restarted work on the scheme at the former Royal Infirmary site.

James Dickens, managing director of the company, said the firm is still on track to build 800 homes.

He said: “We have been very careful to protect our subcontractors throughout this period, and with them coming back on site now, we are making sure we are COVID compliant, while maintaining productivity for the works.

“We are very excited about being back, and even more so about finally being able to start work on the Pepper Pot South building which we know a lot of residents in and around the city will be interested in seeing,” he said.

Brickwork is also due to start being laid from the start of August.

Hannah Kelham, head of new homes for Connells Group said the amount of enquiries they had been getting was unprecedented over the last two months.

She added: “Sales are up 250% on last July, this is spurred on from incentives such as Help To Buy, the incredible mortgage rates and the government’s recent announcement about the Stamp Duty break for all properties under £500,000. There has never been a better time to buy.

“At Ashley Adams, part of the Connells Group and based in Derby’s Cathedral Quarter, this trend is even more prevalent, and people have been coming to us specifically asking about the Nightingale Quarter. So it’s a huge positive for us during times which have been very uncertain for many.”

Ashley Adams is handling enquiries for the first of the 1, 2 and 3-bed apartments and houses, being constructed on the former Derbyshire Royal Infirmary site.

The 18-acre site will include cycle routes, an open air gym and fitness area, children’s play areas and planting.

The infirmary’s iconic pepper pot buildings will be retained for community use, including a café, gym, exhibition space and meeting rooms.