Wavensmere wraps up 925-home Nightingale Quarter
Artwork and public space improvements have been unveiled on the site of the city’s former Royal Infirmary, as developer Wavensmere Homes rounds out a six-year housing development.
Residents are set to move into the final phase of the £175m scheme next month following completion of Walton House, a five-storey building containing 103 apartments available to rent.
Wavensmere has appointed Derby Estate Agent, Ashley Adams, to let the homes.
This week, a children’s play area, outdoor gymnasium and a fallow deer sculpture were unveiled at the 18.5-acre development – which also includes a running track around its circumference, as well as a residents’ gym, landscaped boulevard and a community allotment.
The redevelopment of the former Derbyshire Royal Infirmary site began in early 2020, following the closure of the hospital in 2009.
The majority of the hospital’s buildings and structures were demolished during the 2010’s, but the hospital’s two landmark “pepper-pot” towers remain, retained in the development as community facilities including a restaurant, gym and exhibition centre.
Cllr Nadine Peatfield, Leader of Derby City Council, said that the completion of the development is a “significant milestone” in the regeneration of Derby city centre.
“From the running track, which is also ideal for walking or jogging with a buggy, to the fully equipped children’s playground, the outdoor gym, community allotment, and the fallow deer sculpture, there is much to enjoy for all,” she said.
“I hope Hamish Mackie’s wonderful deer sculpture becomes a must-see for those living across the city – and visitors too.”
A life-size bronze deer on the site, created by British wildlife sculptor Hamish Mackie, was presented to the people of Derby as a gift from Wavensmere Homes, following a tour of the Museum of Making with Elizabeth Fothergill, CBE, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Derbyshire.
James Dickens, managing director of Wavensmere Homes, said: “It felt fitting to commemorate the conclusion of Nightingale Quarter’s six-year construction programme with a gift to the city and its people. Hamish Mackie is one of the country’s most prominent wildlife sculptors, so to have his work as the centrepiece of the development is special.”
