Derby – the former Baseball Ground
The Baseball Ground was the home of Derby County Football Club until it moved in 1998. The site was purchased by Wallbrook Housing Association to be developed by Strata Homes.
Urban Designs were commissioned to obtain planning approval by way of a scheme created by an original masterplan. Originally the plan was to close and divert part of the road network.
Planning approval was granted but after careful consideration the client decided to retain the existing road network to avoid legal ownership issues and to avoid diverting services within the highway. Consequently the whole scheme was redesigned, taking great pains to embrace the principles of the original masterplan.
This resulted in a design which focused around a main square with a second area of open space adjoining an existing leisure complex. The streets were designed around home zone principles to avoid highways dominating street scenes and to keep traffic speeds to a minimum.
