£9m building plan shelved by Derby City Council

The Derby City Council House on Corporation Street (Credit: LDRS)

Plans to build a vital facility in Derby to help resolve ‘significant challenges’ have been shelved after it was discovered it would cost at least £9m.

A new building was planned to provide “fit-for-purpose” space for the city’s museums’ collection, library resources and expensive Derby Live equipment for entertainment events.

The authority is facing ‘significant challenges’ to store equipment and highways vehicles. It established a ‘Storage Project team’ to tackle the problem and explore future options.

But a new Derby City Council report states plans are being reconsidered after it emerged its main idea would cost millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to create – and therefore “would not be affordable”.

The council owns a new site off Stores Road, which was identified as a possible location for a new storage facility.

Its Labour cabinet last year approved spending more than £1.6 million to undertake feasibility, design and pre-construction works on site with a view to creating a new Highways Hub and a Storage Hub.

The report says: “Subsequently, initial high-level costings for the Storage Hub indicated a capital cost exceeding £9m for the new storage building alone (this did not take account of racking etc.). 

“The Project Team were concerned that costs of this magnitude would not be affordable and have therefore considered alternate solutions to meet the council’s storage requirements.” 

Alternative buildings owned by the city council at Markeaton Park, the central Library and Stores Road Depot have now been identified as possible back up plans.

But the report adds these buildings require condition improvements, refurbishment and reconfiguration. However, the cost of such work is estimated to be ‘significantly lower’ than the £9m cost for its initial plan.

Further feasibility work is now required to develop detailed designs and programmes for the use of the alternative buildings for storage.

Leading councillors were due to meet on Wednesday 13th May to approve making alternative plans to deliver the council’s new storage hub.

A new highways hub is in the pipeline because it was stated the council’s current Stores Road depot “is too small, both spatially and in terms of capacity”.

Councillor Kathy Kozlowski, Cabinet Member for Governance and Finance, said: “We are committed to responsible asset management and achieving best value for the people of Derby.

“If we consider a proposal may not deliver the right balance of cost and benefit, it is only right that we pause and take stock.

“Our focus is on ensuring the storage solutions that the council adopts makes the most effective use of public funds and council buildings, are genuinely fit for purpose, and support the city’s long-term operational needs.”