COUNCIL - LACK OF SUPPORT

Pete Waterman claimed that Derby missed out on his £1.5m dream for the Roundhouse through a lack of support from the council. Mr Waterman brought his rail heritage company, Waterman Railways, to Derby in 1995, with the promise of 100 jobs. But the following year, he abandoned his £1.5m plans to convert the Roundhouse into a railway heritage centre. He has since set up a centre in Crewe, where he employs about 240 people. By contrast, the Roundhouse is still derelict seven years on. Mr Waterman spoke about his decision saying, "If the council had allowed me to develop my project, there would be a lot more jobs in Derby."

However, Derby North MP Bob Laxton, who was council leader at the time of Mr Waterman's abortive Roundhouse plans, said that there had never been any dispute with the council. He said, "He was in dispute with Railtrack about access charges because they were wanting to charge a fortune to run steam engines because they burnt embankments and that sort of thing. As a result of that, he pulled out. But we were keen to actually re-establish the Roundhouse, and it was great that Pete Waterman was here."

Since then, the Roundhouse has been the subject of many plans and ideas which have all fallen through and it has now stood derelict for a total of 15 years. The latest plan is a £20m project by developer Urban Catalyst, which wants to restore the property and introduce new buildings to contain apartments, offices, a hotel, leisure facilities, a casino, retail space and an arts venue. City council leader Maurice Burgess said there had been a "positive meeting" with the developers and the plans were going ahead.

A scheme aimed at reducing the number of abandoned cars that are set on fire has been snubbed by Derby City Council. Derbyshire Fire Authority is leading a bid for £88,000 from the Government's Arson Task Force fund to provide a driver and lorry for three years to remove abandoned vehicles from the streets within 25 hours. But, following the city council's refusal to pay £3,500 a year towards the costs, the scheme will now be set up in Bolsover and north east Derbyshire. The fire authority oversees the running of Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, whose £30m annual running costs are met by Derbyshire County Council (75%) and Derby City Council (25%).

The removal of abandoned vehicles is the responsibility of local authorities and a notice has to be displayed on the car for a certain period before the vehicle can be removed. Earlier in 2003, new legislation reduced that time period from seven days to 24 hours and the Government is urging councils to cut car fires by removing abandoned vehicles as soon as possible. The city council employs contractors to remove 25 abandoned cars in Derby each week and removal takes three to four days from the time of notification.

The fire authority invited Derbyshire police and the city council to support the funding bid. The council was asked to pay £3,500 each year for diesel for the lorry. When the city council refused, the fire authority approached Northeast Derbyshire District Council and Bolsover District Council, which agreed to stump up the cash. A joint funding bid has now been submitted. Councillor Lucy Care, Derby City Council's cabinet member for planning, transportation and environment, said, "To have a special vehicle to remove, on average, four cars a day might not be the best use of resources. Our contractors can slot in our requests between other jobs."

Bernie Cahill, the fire authority's chief fire officer, said, "If the pilot scheme is successful, I will be inclined to ask the fire authority or the district councils to fund its continuation. How Derby City Council chooses to have abandoned cars removed is up to them." The fire authority vice-chairman, Labour councillor Richard Gerrard, said, "It's a disgrace that the people of Derby have been denied this service."