Derby Bus Station Delay To Impact On Casino Plan

New casino is planned for Derby as part of the £100m Riverlights development.

The opening of a casino venue in Derby is set to be pushed back due to problems with the city's new bus station development.

Both buildings are part of the Riverlights complex, a £100 million development that also includes two hotels, several restaurants, bars and shopping areas.

The bus station had been scheduled to open by September, but various delays mean that it is now unlikely to be ready before January 2011, the Derby Telegraph reports.

According to the newspaper, the local council has said that the rest of the development cannot open until the bus station is fully operational, meaning that the casino launch will have to wait.

"It's obviously disappointing that the bus station will be delayed but, when the developer first announced it was planning to get everything done by September, it seemed a bit optimistic," councillor Lucy Care told the publication.

The bus station delay is the latest blow for the Riverlights project, which has been dogged by various problems since gaining planning permission in 1997.

Construction work began on the site, which looks on to the River Derwent, in May last year.