A DERBY developer plans to invest a seven-figure sum in a derelict eight-acre site intended to become a business park.

The deal will complete on condition that Ivygrove Developments, based in Mansfield Road, gets planning consent to build 12 industrial units.

Two firms, one relocating from Nottingham, have reserved plots of 8,000 sq ft and 12,000 sq ft at the site next to the heavy goods vehicle testing station in Belmore Way.

According to Ivygrove, negotiations are under way with another two companies, which require more than 20,000 sq ft of space.

A planning application is due to be submitted this week.

Ivygrove hopes to start construction work this summer.

In total, the business park will have 140,000 sq ft of employment space, with units ranging in size from 5,000 sq ft to 50,000 sq ft.

The site, which has remained undeveloped for more than 20 years, was formerly a pre-fabricated campsite for the homeless.

In the Second World War, it was used by the military.

The vendor was Telereal Trillium, a London-based property and investment management company that had bought the land from the Government.

National agent CBRE acted on behalf of Telereal Trillium.

Ivygrove chairman John Blount said: “We have been working on this deal for a long time. I’m delighted with response from potential tenants and believe that Derby has potential for massive growth in the industrial and manufacturing sectors.”

Property agent Stephen Salloway, who acted on behalf of Ivygrove, said: “By transforming a derelict site, this meets the council’s aspirations for regeneration and job creation.”

A £70 million extreme sports centre – the first of its kind in Europe – is being lined up for land at Pride Park in Derby.

Rock-climbing is understood to be one of around 20 high-adrenalin sports which could be offered at The Cube, a centre with nearly five acres of floor space – the equivalent of about three football pitches.

A private company wants to invest £70 million in developing the site – creating 460 jobs in the process.

The term “extreme sports” can encompass activities including snow-boarding, indoor skydiving, motocross and BMX racing.

The Cube would be situated near to the Derby Velodrome as well as the Pride Park Plaza developments that are due to be constructed in the next two years.

Plans to spend £280 million in Derby will be detailed to whet the appetite of inward investors at the world’s biggest property show.

Marketing Derby is staging a Derby City Embassy event at the Marche International des Professionels d’Imobilier (MIPIM), in the south of France next month.

Derby City Council Chief Executive Adam Wilkinson will give a presentation about £240m of capital investment during 2012/13.

And Derby Renaissance Board chairman Peter Richardson will explain how £40m from the Regional Growth Fund will be spent.

The keynote speaker will be David Turner, Chief Executive of HeroTSC, who will discuss the reasons why his company decided to bring 700 call-centre jobs to the city.

The event, The Eden Hotel in Cannes, is being sponsored by law firm Geldards, architectural practice Lathams, construction consultancy Faithful and Gould, and Marketing Derby’s Bondholders. The VIP Dinner is to be sponsored by Innes England.

Marketing Derby  Managing Director John Forkin said, “MIPIM is an important part of our strategy to raise Derby’s profile with investors because anyone who’s anyone in the property industry will be there. Derby is not on investors’ radar like cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds so we have to elbow our way in to grab attention.”

The intention is to make contact with potential investors in Cannes and then invite them to take a look around Derby in May.

The result of previous Embassies at MIPIM have seen company Lowbridge invest in the £20m Friar Gate Square office scheme that is set to start work this week.

Derby City Embassy stand is situated on 16.20.

Places are still available for the Derby City Embassy at MIPIM. To reserve your place or find out more information, email melis.harvey@marketingderby.co.uk.

Agents for a £20 million office development in Derby have said they are already in talks with potential tenants.

Developer Lowbridge will begin work on the first phase of Friar Gate Square on Monday, February 13. Sited on the corner of Agard Street and Ford Street, Friar Gate Square will be the first speculative office development to be built in Derby for 20 years.

Agents Innes England and CBRE have been appointed to find occupiers for the first phase of the development, which is expected to be completed by January next year.

The first phase will provide 32,000 sq ft of office space over six storeys. Work on the second phase will begin once all the offices in the first phase have been let.

According to Nick Hosking, Director at Innes England, interest is already starting to be shown. “Discussions are progressing well with a number of different parties.”

John Forkin, Managing Director of Marketing Derby said, “One cannot underestimate the importance of Lowbridge’s decision to start work. In my opinion, this represents the start of the next phase of Derby’s regeneration.”

“We are looking to work with the investor, the developer and the commercial agents to ensure by the time the building is complete in 2013 that it has occupiers ready to move in.”

Work will start next month on a multi-million-pound office development in Derby.

Developer Lowbridge has said that it will begin building the first phase of the £20 million Friar Gate Square scheme, creating about 250 jobs, on February 13.

Derby City Council is providing an undisclosed amount of cash from its £10 million Regeneration Fund, which was set up to stimulate office developments in the city centre, to help with construction costs.

The first phase, which is due for completion in January next year, will provide 32,000 sq ft of office space over six storeys.

It is believed the development could create 700 jobs when both phases have been completed.

City Council leader Philip Hickson said: “This project will deliver major regeneration benefits and provide an enormous boost for the city.

“If we encourage developers to start work on new schemes, they will become a catalyst for others to follow and the city will benefit from the major inward investment that is generated.”

More than 70 jobs are set to be created at a £1.5 million restaurant which will open at Derby’s Riverlights development.

Jimmy’s World Grill and Bar has confirmed it will open the 400-seater restaurant on February 8 which is the firm’s second UK location.

Riverlights, which cost £50 million to build, is now home to a number of major names including hotel chains Holiday Inn and Hampton by Hilton, as well as Genting Club casinos.

John Forkin, Managing Director of Marketing Derby, said: “I think the fact that Jimmy’s has chosen Derby as its second location for a restaurant does speak volumes for the city. Getting in quality names is part of the vision to bring the Riverside area to life – making Derby a city that looks towards the river rather than away from it.”

“Companies like Jimmy’s are buying into that vision and will help make this area a vibrant part of the city.”

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City shops excluding those in Westfield Derby saw visitor numbers rise by more than a quarter in the run-up to Christmas.

Figures released by Derby City Council, footfall in the city centre, outside of the Westfield shopping centre, were up 25.6% last month compared to December 2010 – the highest number of visitors for five years.

This figures covered Derby’s BID areas the Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter.

Leader of Derby City Council Philip Hickson said, “The city centre was bustling with Christmas shoppers and in Christmas week we saw the figures up by almost 50%.”

“These exceptional figures were the highest since 2006 and are an immense boost to Derby’s economy and reputation as a retail destination in the East Midlands.”