Friar Gate Goods Yard: Restoration of 'a piece of Derby's history' starts with 276 homes to come

The £75 million project has been called 'a nationally important trophy asset in Derby’s ongoing renaissance'

Years of neglect and concern about one of Derby's most significant landmark buildings has come to an end after work has started on restoring the 19th century Grade II-listed bonded warehouse on the Friar Gate Goods Yard site in the city centre. The ground was officially broken by Derby City Council leader Councillor Nadine Peatfield and Derby South MP Baggy Shanker.

They were joined by James Dickens, managing director of Wavensmere Homes, which is overseeing the £75 million project that will also see another listed building restored on the site - the engine house - and the building of 276 new homes.

Site enabling works across the 11.5-acre site are under way, with the ground works commencing in November 2024. The first phase will incorporate the formation of a new spine road through the site and remediation works to the two listed buildings. Simultaneously, construction of the first residential phase will take place.

This comprises of 63 terraced houses, which will be available for occupation before the end of 2026. The full redevelopment, restoration and construction programme is anticipated to complete by the end of 2028.

The restoration of the bonded warehouse and engine house will see them turned into flexible offices, health and fitness space, a restaurant/café, together with a regional sales centre for Birmingham-headquartered Wavensmere Homes.

Extensive new areas of open space, including play areas and pocket parks will also be created, in addition to the retention of the tree buffer, to enhance the biodiversity of the site.

Catherine Atkinson, MP for Derby North, who was also at the event, said: "After over 50 years of sitting vacant, it was brilliant to visit Friar Gate Goods Yard and see the work underway to bring this local landmark back to life. This redevelopment will restore a piece of Derby's history while creating jobs and giving a major boost to the local economy, now and in the future."

The elevated area adjacent to Friar Gate Bridge will become a new multi-purpose public realm and community space, with retention of some of the original railway arch facades. New vehicular, pedestrian and cycle access will be created at various points around the site, from Uttoxeter New Road, Great Northern Way, and Friar Gate, with the Mick Mack cycling route also to be extended.

Mrs Peatfield said: “I am thrilled that Wavensmere Homes has made a start on site so soon after receiving planning approval. The two fine terracotta-listed buildings are such important historical assets for our city and we can now be assured of their future. I cannot wait to see the bonded warehouse preserved and brought back into use as the centrepiece for this £75m mixed-use development."

Octopus Real Estate has provided a £24m loan to Wavensmere Homes to enable the comprehensive four-year programme of work to start without delay. Glancy Nicholls Architects and Pegasus Group worked collaboratively to produce the detailed plans for Friar Gate Goods Yard, which received planning approval earlier this year.

Mr Dickens said: “The fine attention to detail and investment we will inject into the reanimation of Friar Gate Goods Yard will see it become a nationally important trophy asset in Derby’s ongoing renaissance. The 227 houses at Friar Gate Goods Yard will provide much-needed choice in the market and be the most energy-efficient in the city, so there is already significant pent-up demand.

"The first opportunity to reserve a home here will be in 2025, but we are collecting people’s details on our website. We’re very pleased to see the amount of early interest from people who’ve bought from us previously, including residents living at Nightingale Quarter.”

The designs for the 227 two- and three-bedroom townhouses that will surround the two listed buildings are bespoke and will sit in curved and terraced street scenes. There will also be a four-storey apartment building containing 49 apartments.

The Friar Gate Goods Yard was intended as the main goods depot for the Great Northern Railway line, to handle coal, livestock, timber, and metals. Designed in 1870, and entering operation in 1878, the bonded warehouse building contained extensive warehouse space and offices.

The engine house was also built for the railway by Kirk & Randall of Sleaford and supplied power to the hydraulic lifts and capstans at the bonded warehouse.

The site first became derelict in 1967, and overtime became overgrown and fell into a poor state of repair. An arson attack took place at the goods yard in 2020, which exposed the whole inner iron structure of the two historic buildings.