The days are numbered for a Nottingham eyesore which most local people will be pleased to see the back of and turned into a key part of the city centre’s transformation.
Councillors at the City Council’s Executive Board meeting earlier today (Thursday 1 June) gave the go-ahead for the Broadmarsh car park to be demolished to make way for a brand new replacement.
And a local resident will be given the opportunity to take the first sledge-hammer swing at the car park to get the demolition underway. The council anticipates there will be few who will be sorry to see it go – and many who would be more than willing to help it on its way and so a competition will be run to give someone the chance.
From this…….. 
To this……. 
The decision to demolish the building was taken on the basis that it is more cost-effective in the long-run than refurbishing it, as maintenance bills will be drastically reduced, while expensive ongoing remedial works will no longer be necessary. It also creates the opportunity for constructing a brand new development providing modern car park and bus station facilities and incorporating new shops and cafes to help the wider regeneration of the area and in keeping with intu’s rejuvenated shopping centre.
In future, the new development will be complemented by improvements to the surrounding streets where traffic will be removed or reduced to create a much-improved, pedestrian-friendly entrance to the city centre from Nottingham Station. Shops and cafes will be developed overlooking the new pedestrianised areas of Carrington Street and Collin Street. The car park will have the same number of spaces and a new entrance and exit on Canal Street.
City Council Leader Cllr Jon Collins said: “The new car park, bus station and shops will play a big part in changing the look and feel of the whole area and I for one am keen to see the building replaced with something modern and appropriate for such a key site on the southern entrance to the city centre.
“I imagine others will be pleased to see the back of it too and I look forward to seeing someone swing a sledgehammer to start the process of consigning it to history.
“Clearly, developments of this magnitude in a key central location can’t happen without having a significant impact on traffic, but everything will be done to minimise this as much as possible, such as coordinating the different schemes that are underway and putting clear traffic management arrangements in place.”
The Broadmarsh redevelopment scheme will see £250m invested in the area, redeveloping intu Broadmarsh into a modern retail and leisure destination, creating a pedestrianised and pedestrian friendly area between intu Broadmarsh and Nottingham Station and improving the bus station and car park. It is expected to boost the economy by £1.1 billion a decade with 2,900 more jobs, attracting three million more visitors and bringing £25 million extra spend to the city a year.
More information
- More information about the Broadmarsh development is available at betterbroadmarsh.com
- You can sign up for the latest Better Broadmarsh updates here: https://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/Broadmarshemail
- Updates will also be available via @MyNottingham on Twitter and Facebook.
Timetable for development
The intention is that demolition will start in mid-July and will take around six months to complete. Construction of the new car park will begin early next year and should be complete by the end of 2019.
Managing the traffic
Such a significant development in a key central location is expected to have a major impact on traffic but recent improvement works around the Broadmarsh area at Canal Street and London Road were designed with this in mind and should ease the flow of traffic around the area. The works will be coordinated with the intu Broadmarsh redevelopment and road changes to minimise disruption as much as possible.
Temporary traffic management will also be in place during demolition, with one lane closed on Collin Street, Middle Hill and Canal Street, while upper Carrington Street will be closed.
Alternative parking
The council has created temporary alternative parking sites on Canal Street at Broadmarsh East (City Hub site) and Sheriff’s Lodge while the development is underway, with other car parks nearby and plenty of public transport options available to access the city centre. Car park prices at these sites will remain the same as at Broadmarsh Car Park but with no early bird discount. Anyone with a car parking contract at Broadmarsh will receive a letter regarding next steps.
Bus changes
Bus services from the Broadmarsh bus station will be re-located to existing stops on Collin Street and new stops on Canal Street while the works are underway. National Express coach services will move to Station Street.
Competition
More information about the competition to be the first to take a sledge-hammer to the car park will be announced on My Nottingham social media channels.