logo
More than 34,000 visit Derby's reopened Market Hall

More than 34,000 visit Derby's reopened Market Hall

BBC News6 days ago

Council bosses say 34,500 people have visited the Market Hall in the first three days since it reopened following a £35m refurbishment.The Grade II listed indoor market was closed for three years while work took place but welcomed back customers on Saturday.It is hoped the revamp will bring an estimated boost of £3.5m to the city economy by attracting more people into Derby.Derby City Council leader Nadine Peatfield said the queues on Saturday to get into the Victorian building were "beyond expectations" and added the reopening of the venue was a "catalyst moment in Derby's ongoing regeneration efforts".
Located in the heart of the city centre - linking the Derbion shopping centre and St Peter's Quarter with the Cathedral Quarter and Becketwell - the new attraction's transformation started in 2018.The official opening of the stall took place almost 159 years after its original opening in 1866.Peatfield said: "It was absolutely phenomenal to see that the Market Hall drew in over 34,000 visitors in its first three days."Going forward, the Market Hall will contribute significantly to the local economy, generating over £3.5m for the local economy every year."

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

STEM Demand Drives Expansion of Academic Roles at Coleg Cambria
STEM Demand Drives Expansion of Academic Roles at Coleg Cambria

Business News Wales

time28 minutes ago

  • Business News Wales

STEM Demand Drives Expansion of Academic Roles at Coleg Cambria

Growth in STEM subjects and demand nationwide has led to a raft of new roles at a leading college. Coleg Cambria is advertising a range of Engineering education positions at its Institute of Technology (IoT). Based in Deeside and Wrexham, there are vacancies for Lecturers in Mechanical Engineering, Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, and in Work-based Learning. Reports point to a UK-wide shortage of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) teachers in secondary and higher education, with a focus on attracting workers from industry to join academia and share their skills and experience with the next generation. Nick Tyson, Vice Principal for Digital, Engineering and Construction at Coleg Cambria, says these are 'hugely important' career opportunities that will make a difference to thousands of learners, now and in the future. 'In today's rapidly evolving world, the need for skilled, adaptable engineers and industry professionals has never been greater, and who better to shape that future than those who've lived it?' said Nick. 'If you've built your career solving real-world problems, leading innovation, or managing complex systems, consider the exciting opportunity of stepping into further education. 'By sharing your knowledge, you don't just teach — you inspire. You empower the next generation to think critically, innovate boldly, and adapt swiftly in an agile, ever-changing workforce. 'Education is no longer just in the classroom, it's a dynamic, collaborative environment where your expertise can ignite potential, bridge industry and academia, and leave a lasting legacy. 'The impact you've made in industry can multiply when you help others discover their path within it.' The college will support successful candidates to achieve the necessary teaching qualifications if they do not already have them. Coleg Cambria champions bilingualism and applicants are welcome to submit an application in Welsh.

Bernardine Evaristo receives Women's Prize outstanding contribution award
Bernardine Evaristo receives Women's Prize outstanding contribution award

The Independent

time41 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Bernardine Evaristo receives Women's Prize outstanding contribution award

Award-winning novelist Bernardine Evaristo has been announced as the recipient of an outstanding contribution award from the Women's Prize Trust. The one-off literary honour celebrates Evaristo's body of work and dedication to advancing the voices of people from underrepresented backgrounds. The trust is known for the Women's Prize for Fiction, a popular literary award that was established in 1996. Evaristo, 66, who was joint winner of the Booker Prize in 2019 for her novel Girl, Woman, Other, will be presented with the award and £100,000 prize money on June 12 at the Women's Prize Trust's summer party in London. She said: 'I am completely overwhelmed and overjoyed to receive this unique award. 'I feel such deep gratitude towards the Women's Prize for honouring me in this way. 'Over the last three decades I have witnessed with great admiration and respect how the Women's Prize for Fiction has so bravely and brilliantly championed and developed women's writing, always from an inclusive stance. 'The financial reward comes as an unexpected blessing in my life and, given the mission of the Women's Prize Trust, it seems fitting that I spend this substantial sum supporting other women writers; more details on this will be forthcoming.' Evaristo will be honoured alongside the winners of the 2025 Women's Prize for Fiction and the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, which was won by V V Ganeshananthan and Naomi Klein respectively, last year. Authors who have been longlisted or won the Women's Prize for Fiction over the past three decades, and had published a minimum of five books, were eligible for the outstanding contribution award. The winner of the outstanding contribution award was selected by a judging panel chaired by novelist and non-fiction author Kate Mosse, founder director of the Women's Prize for Fiction and Women's Prize for Non-Fiction. She said: 'My fellow judges and I always knew it would be a tall order to choose just one author from the many exceptional contemporary writers who have made such a huge contribution in a world where women's voices are increasingly being silenced, where the arts and artists are under attack. 'Books encourage empathy, they offer alternative and diverse points of view; they help us to stand in other people's shoes and to see our own worlds in the mirror. 'In the end, we felt that Bernardine Evaristo's beautiful, ambitious and inventive body of work (which includes plays, poetry, essays, monologues and memoir as well as award-winning fiction), her dazzling skill and imagination, and her courage to take risks and offer readers a pathway into diverse and multifarious worlds over a forty-year career, made her the ideal recipient of the Women's Prize Outstanding Contribution Award.' The Women's Prize Trust says the one-off award marks the 30th anniversary year of the Women's Prize for Fiction. Evaristo, who was born in Woolwich, south London, and is of Anglo-Nigerian descent, has shed light on the lives of modern British women through her work, taking an interest in the African diaspora. She has launched several successful writing schemes to support women writers and under-represented writers of colour, including the Complete Works mentoring scheme for poets. Several of her works, including The Emperor's Babe and Hello Mum, have been adapted into BBC Radio 4 plays. Evaristo's other novels include Blonde Roots, Soul Tourists and Mr Loverman. The latter was turned into an eight-part BBC drama starring Lennie James and Ariyon Bakare. The actors, who star as lovers struggling to go public with their relationship, picked up Baftas for their roles during the academy's TV awards in May.

Top universities pledge more support for care leavers to widen access to courses
Top universities pledge more support for care leavers to widen access to courses

The Independent

time41 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Top universities pledge more support for care leavers to widen access to courses

Top universities have pledged more support for care leavers – including contextual admissions and bursaries – to get more disadvantaged young people into higher education. The Russell Group, which represents many of the most selective universities in the UK, has also set out a plan to improve the transparency and consistency of policies for contextual offers. In a report, the group of 24 research-intensive universities made a series of commitments to improve access for under-represented students. It comes after Universities UK (UUK), which represents 141 universities, recently called for evidence to better understand how universities use contextual admissions – which take into account a student's circumstances and background to recognise the barriers they have faced. Practices already used by universities to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds progress into higher education include reducing offer requirements and guaranteeing interviews. Russell Group universities will now launch a taskforce to develop practical methods to 'bring consistency to the language used' for contextual admissions policies across their institutions. The paper said: 'Clear and consistent language on contextual admissions practices means that future learners exploring their options for applying to higher education better understand policies across institutions, ensuring they can make better-informed decisions.' All Russell Group universities have said they will provide a tailored support package for all care leaver students – including accommodation support, bursaries and contextual admissions. Care leavers are a 'disproportionately under-represented' group across higher education (HE), with just 14% of care leavers in higher education by the age of 19 in 2021/22 compared to 47% of the wider population, the report from the group said. A lack of a stable family network to fall back on for financial help or emotional support means they may require greater pastoral care, and they may need year-round accommodation. Once in place, the Russell Group universities have said they will extend this support package to care-experienced and estranged students to help them gain access to university and deal with the additional challenges they face during their studies. It comes after Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson called on universities in January to 'play a stronger role' in expanding access and improving outcomes for disadvantaged students. In November, Ms Phillipson announced that undergraduate tuition fees in England, which had been frozen at £9,250 since 2017, would rise to £9,535 from 2025/26. She also announced that maintenance loans would increase in line with inflation in the 2025-26 academic year to help students with their living costs. The Russell Group has repeated its calls for the Government to reintroduce maintenance grants for the poorest students in England, and review the parental income thresholds that determine how much students can borrow to help ease 'the growing financial pressures on students'. The Government is due to set out its plan for higher education reform in the summer. Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group, said: 'As educational inequalities have grown at school level since the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis, it's more important than ever that universities are ambitious in their attempts to close these gaps and remove barriers for students with the potential to thrive at university. 'Care-experienced students remain one of the most under-represented groups in higher education, with specific challenges particularly around finances and independent living. 'That's why we've made this commitment to make sure all our universities are offering a tailored package of support, so these students get the assistance they need not just to gain a place, but to thrive at university with the right resources.' In April, UUK announced a joint project with Ucas and the Sutton Trust to review the criteria used for contextual admissions to encourage greater consistency across universities. The current admissions system is 'hard to navigate and a barrier' which is potentially putting off young people from reaching university, UUK said. A spokeswoman for the Department for Education said: 'Through our ambitious Plan for Change we will restore universities as engines of opportunity, aspiration and growth. 'We know there are baked-in inequalities and regional disparities that remain in our education system, which is why we are demanding that providers play a stronger role in expanding access and improving outcomes for disadvantaged students. We welcome this commitment from Russell Group universities. 'We aim to publish our plans for HE reform as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy White Paper in the summer, as we fix the foundations of higher education to deliver change for students.' Katharine Sacks-Jones, chief executive of Become, the national charity for children in care and young care leavers, said: 'Care-experienced young people tell us how tough it is to get into and stay in higher education. 'So the Russell Group's expanded help is very welcome and could be a game changer.' She added: 'This is exactly the kind of step we need other universities to follow.' Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children's Commissioner for England, said: 'I hope this move from the Russell Group inspires other institutions to widen access to care experienced young people, improving their offer so they can navigate higher education with confidence.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store