“Thanks Kate, My idea for a Tram would be that it runs down past St Peters St passed the market place upto Irongate and stop at the old Dolphin pub then every 10 mins after this, I am sure this would take alot of people to & from the catherdal quarter to westfields and aslo id DCC/westfields/Derby city scape and a few others backed it and made it a free service maybe we would get somewere and it would be a grea tourist attraction to boot. The idea of having an Ice Rink / Multi sports complex and 5* hotel at Duckworth square is because i just dont see this project moving on and as DCC are looking at new areas for sports complexes why not have the old Duckworth square and Debenhams as a brand new Ice Rink/Multi use sports complex and 5* hotel? Come on DCC and Derbycityscape get your brains working and sort this out before there is no shops left at Cathedral Quarter(or how I would like to call it "the Gem of Derby).”

“Sean, derby. your idea about the tram service and also duckworth square seem quite logical, but when has derby ever been this and also when did it ever listen to the derby people. I also think that the range of shops in the westfield seem to cater for people who just want to but clothes, shoes and mobile phones. Then again what else in life is there!!!”

“ramfangazman, Having spent some time looking at such websites as Facebook and several dozen YouTube productions as well as numerous blog sites, I have been surprised by how many people share my views, the most interesting point is that most of the people who value the history of our city are much yunger than me. I looked at the activists who have taken over the old Smiths Clock works, formerly John Whitehurst's Derby home, and have repaired the roof and are now trying to get the building listed - I'm old enough to be their father!
people better placed to make a difference who support the concerns I and many others share, are in a minority, but from what I read in the press, things appear to be changing due to the realisation that Derby may be a place to invest, but it also needs to be a place people want to live in, and to achieve this it needs to regain its soul.”

“I think it will all depend on what happens with duckworth square and surrounding areas. I think that if Duckworth square was turned into a Ice rink & sports complex with an 5* Hotel complex beside it then that would bring jobs to Derby and people back into the Catherdal area during the day and at night - Another idea I would put forward is why not have a tram service from the Spot to the old dolphin pub every 10 mins this could be a tourist attraction and could be sponserd by Bombardier/Westfields/Rolls Royce/DCC to bring Cathedral quarter back to life.”

“this is great news. we can board up one end of town, then when no-one has got any money left (750 going at toyato, 1000 extra on top of the previous 500 nottingham council going, not sure if derby's council has had the balls to tell anyone yet) we can board up the westfield too and town can enjoy some tumbleweed. :)”

“I don't shop in Derby very often, but I was there on Sunday to buy some jewellery, I had a walk around Westfield & wasn't too impressed with the selection, so I thought I'd try the shops outside the centre. The shop that is blaming Westfield for its demise was not open. Maybe if they traded the same hours as those in Westfield they would have fared better?”

“I was interested to read in last week's Telegraph that the aim is to make Derby a centre for conferences and that the position is currently held by Buxton, which also has the title of "Festival Capital of the UK". yet Buxton does not have a Westfield - or any other major shopping mall. The town has several old but luxurious hotels, all steeped in interesting histories, the Opera House, Pavilion Gardens and 2,000 seat capacity concert hall and a small theatre, all supported by a collection of exclusive little shops that sell anything from a saucepan to fashion clothing, to exquisite locally made chocolate products. Millions of pounds are being invested into the Crescent to turn it into a hotel and Derby University has taken over the old Devonshire Hospital (a Georgian structre) building, which has the second largest dome in the world (was the largest until Texas had one built that is a bit larger).
Derby still aspires to become the centre for conferences and is aiming for "Capital of Culture" ststus by 2017 yet we are losing businesses like H.L Brown who add to the individuality of our city. If we become yet another clone of a corporate giant and lose our past, we have no chance of a future.”

“I for one am very glad Westfield has opened. Shopping in Derby was rubbish prior to this.
I visit town in general a hell of a lot more. About the parking prices.. It¿s actually more expensive to park in Westfield (rip off). It¿s cheaper to park down the Cathedral Quarter where there are lower priced car parks. Shops will shut down, people loose interest and prices go up when wages remain the same. Everything will soon even itself out down that end of town once the economy picks back up again! (fingers crossed)”

“Chris, I'm going to take it that you know what you're talking about!!

With your passion and apparent knowledge, it must be hard to accept that the people better placed to make a differences don't share these attributes!!!!!”

“ramfangazman, Spondon, fair comment, I do agree with the point you are making. I think that more must be done to promote Derby rather than placing the emphasis on "Westfield Derby".
I actually got involved with Westfield in a pro-active two way discussion with their marketing director when they invited the public of Derby to participate. I asked them to have more association with Derby by retaining local place names within he centre and identifying more with the culture and history of the city. They at first agreed to put photos of Bygone Derby up to show that we have a history and a wealthy industrial past.
This never materialsed so I pursued with my on-line questioning. I was told that company policy is to promote Westfield and the Westfield shopping culture. They have a strong corporate identity and this would appear to override all other considerations. I'm afraid Westfield is Westfield wherever it is.
I had a comment from a New Yorker who knew her way around the centre because it was the same as the one in New York, however she did not cross the Atlantic to see this as she only normally has to travel 3 miles to Westfeld. The interest was with Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (having watched the movie) and the Cathedral was the destination in Derby City Centre - how disappointing that the number of shops have failed in that area.
The City Council have also failed to cash in on every movie that takes place in Derbyshire and brings tourists here in this way.”