The City of Derby

Description:

Derby city is located in the Derbyshire County and is the most central city in UK, situated on the edge of the Peak District National park.  Derby city has more than 17 districts including the sub- districts which are run by Derby city council and a population of over 230 000 people according to the 2001 census report. The city is demarcated by the river Derwent which flows north to south-east through Derby and is quite compact, making shopping excitingly easy.

The city of Derby has one University, the University of Derby whose main campus is on Kedleston Road and has other small campuses elsewhere around the city.  Primary and secondary education is non-selective in Derby like most of the UK. However, outside the state education sector there are four fee-paying independent schools operating in Derby.

Also Derby has fifteen City Technology Colleges set up in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A number of special needs establishments including Ivy House School (which takes pupils from nursery to sixth form) and the Light House which is a respite facility for children and parents can be found in Derby as well.

In terms of crime statistics; based on mid-2005 population estimates supplied by the Office for National Statistics, Derby crime rate is considered still high, with figures on sexual offences, robbery offences, burglary dwelling offences, theft of a motor vehicle offences and theft from a motor vehicle offences all above national average.

Main shopping in Derby revolves around the newly developed Westfield centre, an all-weather weather shopping mall, located off St Peter's Street and London Road. But generally speaking, shopping in Derby can be divided into two main sections, the Westfield Shopping Centre and the Cathedral Quarter.  Also there is a market hall located at the foot of Iron Gate which houses an indoor market selling clothes, fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and sweets.

The main attractions and land marks in Derby are, Derby Cathedral, Derby Gaol, Derby Industrial Museum, Derby Silk Mill, Pickford's House Museum and Derby Museum and Art Gallery. The newer buildings in Derby include Friargate Studios, Joseph Wright College and the Jurys Inn hotel.

There are various places to visit in and around Derby. Just to mention a few, we have  Markeaton Park ;  Derby's most used leisure facility and venue for the city council's annual Guy Fawkes Night firework display, Allestree Park, Darley Park, Chaddesden Park, Alvaston Park, Normanton  Park , Arboretum park and more.

As for transport, Derby has extensive links with other areas of the country. The M1 motorway passes about ten miles to the east of the city. East Midlands Airport is just about fifteen miles (24 km) from Derby city centre. Local bus services in and around Derby are run by a number of companies, but principally Trent Barton and Arriva Midlands which offer a reliable services connecting all districts.

Nightlife in Derby revolves around the Friar Gate area which contains a high number of clubs and bars, making it the centre of Derby's nightlife. Other areas of Derby are also well provided with pubs, many of which have been applauded nationally for their support of real ale. Apart from clubbing, there are also other entertainment activities which come to Derby occasionally. The annual open-air concert at Darley Park is one of the biggest free concerts of its kind. The Derby Jazz group caters for the jazz interest in the city and is regarded as one of the UK's leading live jazz organisations.

There is also a summer rock music festival Prom in the Park which takes place in late July every year. To mention even a few more, we have Derby Playhouse centre and Derby QUAD; a new centre for art and film which opened on 2008. Also there is a 270 seat theatre  venue The Robert Ludlum which provides  diverse programmes of entertainment including dance, drama, art, music, theatre in the round, comedy, films, family entertainment, rock and pop events, workshops and provides a home for many of Derbyshire's amateur production groups.

Derby is as well home to several high profile sports clubs. These include Derby County football club which played at Pride Park Stadium since 1997 and three senior non-league football clubs also based in the city,  Mickleover Sports, Graham Street Prims and Borrowash Victoria . Another team, Derbyshire County Cricket Club is based at the County Ground and play almost all home matches there. Derby also has clubs in both codes of rugby and is represented in the English Basketball League Division One by Derby Trailblazers as well, who play at the Moorways Sports Centre.

The population of Derby is informed by local news papers, radios, internet and the BBC Big Screen project. The main news papers include, Derby Evening Telegraph which is the city's daily newspaper, a free newspaper, the Derby Express delivered to households weekly, the Metro which is distributed in the city centre every morning, although this only has a very small amount of local content and the weekly Derbyshire Times published every Thursday, which mainly covers news from the north of the county.

Local radios include BBC Radio Derby, with around 150,000 weekly listeners. The station is available on 104.5 FM and 1116 AM, on 95.3 FM in North and Mid Derbyshire and on 96.0 FM in the Buxton area, as well as being streamed on the internet.  There is also RAM FM, the independent local radio station for Derbyshire and East Staffordshire which as well is based in the city and broadcasts on 102.8 FM with around 120,000 listeners each week.  

The network hosts many big local events, such as the Darley Park Concert, the city bonfire and fireworks, the Christmas lights switch-on, and the Race For Life, raising money for Cancer Research UK.