Derby gasometers to be converted into offices
Office space could be created in Derby by replacing two famous city landmarks.
Derby is expected to create more office space around the Pride Park business site if plans are accepted to turn two gas drums into new offices.
New office space in Derby is due to be constructed from an unlikely site; two gas storage tanks close to the home of Derby County FC.
The Litchurch Gas Works are set to be demolished and replaced with new office properties should plans be approved by Derby Council.
Built in the Victorian era, the gas drums are a 150 year legacy which have stood close to Pride Park football stadium. If the proposed plans are accepted then the two drums will be dismantled for further office space to be created close to the Pride Park business district.
The site covers 4.2 acres and is currently owned by National Grid who have admitted that the two gasometers there offer no long term future prospects. The two drums have been out of use for the past five years.
Following their decommission, the site will then be ripe for a large development with offices best suited to the area’s environment. Currently the rail and engineering sectors take up a large portion of the office market in the Pride Park area of the East Midlands city.
Around 850,000 square feet of office space is listed as available for rent in Derby. Property developers forecast at the start of 2010 that they were optimistic office space would be rented out in the city.
Currently Pride Park offers the most attractive investment for office space renting in Derby, with over 100,000 square feet of space leased last year.