Interesting geographical things to do....

Mark Beaumont (aka "The Man who Cycled the World" and "The Man who Cycled The Americas") is doing a lecture tour at the moment, and will be at the Assembly Rooms in Derby on Friday 14th May. I went to the Loughborough lecture, and it was brilliant.... More information and the link to book tickets on Mark's website... Go and see him!

Also, if you are in Nottingham, you might like to visit the Nottingham Contemporary, where there is a new exhibition starting today - "Uneven Geographies: Art and Globalisation"... looks interesting!

Disappearing Derby shops...

Some of the many boarded up shops in Derby which, according to a new report out today, has a retail vacancy rate of 22%. 19,000 independent shops and 7000 branches of chains have closed this year across the country, with Margate in Kent being worst affected, and Derby second. Although the recession is a major factor, the Westfield Centre - which opened in 2007 - has played its part.

More from the BBC here.

Changing Derbyshire

Nice resource from the BBC looking at how Derby is changing with developments such as Westfield and Derby Cityscape... Lots of photos, artists' impressions of future developments, and some interesting discussions about the impact that all this will have on the city.

Derby

Just seen on the BBC website that the Tesco that was planned for Derby City Centre is not going to go ahead. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/7517757.stm

The store was going to be on the site of the old Debenhams, which has been empty since Debenhams moved to the new Westfield Centre in October. The article also mentions the impact of the Westfield Centre on other city centre shops - a significant number are now empty - and the effect that this is having on the city centre as a whole... Particularly interesting when you consider this alongside Derby Cityscape Ltd's Masterplan.

What do you think?

Wind turbines for Pride Park?

Those of you who've seen today's Derby Evening Telegraph will know all about the proposals to install upto 10 wind turbines - 400ft high - at Pride Park Business Park, at an estimated cost of £1.7m each!

Click here to go to the full story, where there are also some interesting reader comments about the plans for the turbines (which, apparently, would be "an iconic symbol of how Derby is a forward-thinking city... hmmm....).

"Nobody can claim Pride Park is beautiful... I'm in support of well-sited wind turbines."

"I'm all for it - excellent idea!"

"... a much better place to put them than the Peak District..."

"I know Pride Park's not exactly an area of architectural or historical significance, but that's no reason to put wind turbines all over it..."

WHAT DO YOU THINK??

Good idea? Or do you think that they should be "stuck out of the way on the moors of the Peak District"? Or are they a daft idea altogether??

LEAVE A COMMENT AND LET US KNOW YOUR VIEWS!