A brief history of Derby Shopmobility

There has been a shopmobility service in Derby since 1992. At that time it was run as part of Derby Community Transport and was based in the Bold Lane car park.
In 1995, Derby Shopmobility was created as a charity in its own right, moving to two portacabins in the coach park of the old bus station. At that time the service offered four  scooters, one powered wheelchair and a few manual wheelchairs. Over the next five years demand for the service grew fast and by 2000 another portacabin had been added and the fleet of powered vehicles had grown to 20.
The Riverlights development meant the closure of the old bus station in 2005, so another move was needed. At that time Westfield were beginning the redevelopment of the city’s shopping centre, so Derby City Council made the provision of a shopmobility centre a condition of the planning permission.
The current premises were designed and built and in May 2006 Derby Shopmobility moved in, six months before the rest of the centre opened, This has been home since, providing the administrative and storage facilities which allow us to provide an appropriate shopmobility service for the City of Derby.