LIB DEMS' DIRECTIONLESS STEWARDSHIP DAMAGED DERBY

WESTFIELD’S decision to exit Derby inevitably made the headlines recently, but it also opened the debate on the broader issue of businesses operating within our city centre.

I remember well when Westfield arrived – I was Leader of Derby City Council at the time.  It transformed Derby’s retail offer, pushing our city way up the retail league and increasing visitor numbers by around 10 million per year. 

But I also remember the wider plans that we had in place at that time.  We had a marketing strategy aimed at bringing destination retailers into the Cathedral Quarter and St Peter’s Street.  We also planned to improve our public spaces to make the city more attractive.

Unfortunately, those strategies were jettisoned in May 2008 when the Liberal Democrats catastrophically took control of the council.  Never in my political life have I witnesses such abysmal leadership of the city as that offered up by the Liberal Democrats during that period.

Under their directionless stewardship, the council sleepwalked through the next two years up to the General Election when the Coalition Government heralded in its devastating austerity programme.  The huge opportunities they had to build on Westfield’s arrival were squandered and are in stark contrast to the massive challenges being faced by the city’s current Labour administration.

That’s why politics matters.  The decisions taken by the Liberal Democrat city leaders (sic) during that period are still impacting on us today.  Were it not for those decisions, areas standing derelict would have been regenerated, more local people currently jobless would be employed and Derby’s public services would be in better shape.

I know Westfield’s decision to sell up has caused some anxiety, but I believe it could actually be a catalyst to improve the retail offer outside the Westfield Centre.  It’s in everyone’s interests, including any new owner of the shopping mall, to continue making Derby as attractive as possible to encourage even more people to come here to shop. 

That is why I support the CBI’s calls for a year-long exemption from business rates for firms that move into vacant properties.  And their request that the Chancellor uses next month’s Autumn Statement to introduce a two per cent cap on business rate rises for the next two years is also sensible.  Given the number of empty shop units on East Street, Albion  Street and St Peter’s Street, these measures would provide a welcome incentive. 

So let’s thank Westfield for choosing Derby to develop its first iconic shopping mall in the UK.  It put our city back on the retail map, produced the best shopping destination in the East Midlands and created 3,000 new jobs in the process.  That’s a great legacy leaving us with solid foundations on which to continue building an exciting and prosperous future for our city centre.