Exciting plans to restore two of Nottingham’s beautiful historic buildings are in the pipeline.
Nottingham City Council has received planning applications for the restoration of 17 Angel Row, Newcastle Chambers and Gordon House at 6-12 Carrington Street.
The buildings will benefit from repairs to their façades and restoration of their historic shopfronts.
Old photographs and original architectural drawings contributed to an authentic proposal for the reinstatement of a stunning historic shopfront for 17 Angel Row. This Georgian building is home to Cardzone on the ground floor and Chameleon Arts Cafe on the first floor – both will continue to occupy the building.
Plans include replacing the existing shopfront with a traditional one which reflects the earlier character of the building with hardwood frames and hand-painted signage. Repairs will be made to the façade including to the distinctive shop window on the first floor. First floor windows are important in the history of the high street when retailers began displaying their goods in large windows on the ground and first floors.
Image credit: Nottingham Local Studies Library
Featured in Historic England’s report ‘Buildings in the Broadmarsh Area of Nottingham’, 6-12 Carrington Street is a 1920’s building in the Beaux-Arts classical style. It began life as the home of T. Shipside Ltd, distributor of the popular Morris and Singer vehicles. A wide expanse of full height glazing and a prominent spot on Carrington Street provided an excellent location for their principle car showroom in the late 1920s.
Reinstatement of the attractive glazing to the ground floor will create a new offer of vibrant retail space and repairs will be made to the upper floor façade. Bhatia Best Solicitors will continue to occupy the upper floors. It is located next to the site where the City Council is developing the new Broadmarsh car park and bus station.
Image credit for above and top of page: Rayner Davies Architects
Following the submission of the planning applications, the building owners and their architects are now working on applications for conservation area grant funding. The funding will come from Nottingham City Council’s conservation area grants schemes:
- Old Market Square, The Lace Market and Sneinton Market Conservation Area Grant Schemes, in partnership with Historic England as part of the Nottingham Heritage Action Zone. 17 Angel Row will apply for funding from this scheme, which overall is worth £2.7 million for heritage led regeneration.
- 6-12 Carrington Street will apply for funding from Carrington Street Area Townscape Heritage Scheme in partnership with The Heritage Lottery Fund. Overall, this scheme is worth £1.7 million.
These conservation area grant schemes aim to improve the attractiveness of the city centre, breathe new life into some of the city’s neglected historic buildings and transform the city centre’s ‘at-risk’ conservation areas. They also aim to boost the city’s economy; with upwards of 12 million visitors per year, tourism in the city is worth an estimated £466m.
Decisions on the grant applications are expected this autumn.
Councillor Jane Urquhart, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Housing & Heritage, said: “The Heritage Action Zone and Carrington Street Area Townscape Heritage schemes put heritage at the heart of Nottingham’s development. Some of our historic buildings are showing signs of neglect, but with a little investment and imagination they can become an asset for the city’s economy again.
“The transformation of these two important historic buildings will greatly contribute to the city’s regeneration, providing a catalyst for heritage-led regeneration alongside the transformation of Nottingham Castle and the ambitious regeneration of Nottingham’s Southern Gateway.
“Nottingham is proud of its past and ambitious for its future and heritage led regeneration is a fantastic way to restore the city’s historic character, boost tourism and create jobs.”
About Nottingham Heritage Action Zone
Nottingham was proud to be chosen as one of the country’s very first Heritage Action Zones. The five-year programme (2017 to 2022), worth £2.7m, includes 17 projects that will revitalise the city centre. It includes grants for historic properties in Old Market Square, Lace Market and Sneinton Market Conservation Area for conservation-led repairs and improvements to support the city’s economy.
Funding comes from Historic England, Nottingham City Council, Bromley House Library and the private sector.
Find out more about the exciting and ambitious Heritage Action Zone programme at Heritage Action Zone and Conservation Area Grants.
About Historic England
We are Historic England, the public body that champions and protects England’s historic places. We look after the historic environment, providing expert advice, helping people protect and care for it and helping the public to understand and enjoy it.
About Carrington Street Area Townscape Heritage Scheme
£682,400 of Heritage Lottery Funding has been awarded for a Townscape Heritage scheme in the Carrington Street area of Nottingham. The scheme will run from 2016 to March 2021.
The scheme provides grants to eligible owners or tenants of a historic buildings on Carrington Street or Station Street, of up to 67% of the costs of building repair or other townscape heritage works, such as the reinstatement of a traditional shop-fronts.
More information on the scheme can be found here: https://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/carrington-street-area-townscape-heritage-scheme/
About the Heritage Lottery Fund
Thanks to National Lottery players, we invest money to help people across the UK explore, enjoy and protect the heritage they care about – from the archaeology under our feet to the historic parks and buildings we love, from precious memories and collections to rare wildlife. www.hlf.org.uk. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery and #HLFsupported.