A MAJOR international construction firm has agreed to postpone cable-laying work in Derby so that the city's annual duck race is not disrupted.
The Ey Up Mi Duck race, in aid of Sight Support Derbyshire, will take place on Cathedral Green on Saturday, June 8, and will also include a funfair and stalls.
But it was feared that it would have raised a lot less than the £10,000 it usually brings in as infrastructure firm Balfour Beatty had cable-laying work scheduled for the Green at that time.
This would have meant stallholders having to be reimbursed and there not being enough room for the rides which also raise cash for the charity.
Now Balfour Beatty has delighted Sight Support by agreeing to postpone its work until after the event.
Eileen Bagguley, the charity's fund-raising and communications manager, said: "The amount of money we'd have raised would have been halved.
"We are really happy that Balfour Beatty has been able to do this and appreciate that it can't be easy to change a project like that."
Balfour Beatty's work is part of a massive £10 million scheme on behalf of Western Power Distribution to replace power cables feeding the city centre.
It began in June last year and is scheduled for completion in December 2013, with the Green work due to be finished this September. David Shelton, the project manager for Balfour Beatty, said: "We're very pleased that we have been able to work with the duck race organisers to avoid disruption to this important local event.
"We always try to work with the community in order to minimise the impact of our work but any project of this scale will inevitably cause some inconvenience.
"We really appreciate the patience shown by local people and we're pleased to be able to show this by also supporting the race with sponsorship."
Mick Dunne, major projects distribution manager for Western Power, said that his firm was the main sponsor for the race.
Mrs Bagguley said between 1,500 and 2,000 people were expected at the event. It starts at 11am with the race beginning at 1.30pm. Ducks can be sponsored for £1, or organisations can adopt giant ducks in the corporate race for £30.
Sight Support has also organised a fund-raising beach event with Derby Live in the Market Place from July 25 to August 1.
The charity has arranged funding for the event through Blueline Leisure.
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