This summer will see the skyline of Nottingham change further, as a series of significant developments take shape or are completed.
Despite the pandemic, construction has continued at a number of key sites across Nottingham, especially around the Southside regeneration area:
- The jewel in the crown is Nottingham Castle – due to reopen on June 21st after a £31m, three-year development and conservation project overseen by Nottingham City Council. It has been jointly funded by the National Lottery through the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), D2N2, Nottingham Castle Trust and Nottingham City Council with contributions from Arts Council and numerous fundraising efforts undertaken to help contribute towards the construction work.
- The City Council is also behind the new Broad Marsh Car Park and Bus Station, complete with a photo-voltaic farm of 720 solar panels on the roof, which will provide power to the car park, bus station and new Central Library when it relocates from Angel Row. The Car Park and Bus Station are on course to open in autumn, with exterior works completed and internal works close to completion. Nottingham City Council has secured £12.5m of Government funding which will be used to create the Angel Row Creative Co-operative, a new development behind the retained historic frontage of the current Central Library, with the sale of the Central Library building to a developer being finalised. It will also fund public realm improvements on Angel Row and Maid Marian Way.
- The area around the new Broad Marsh Car Park and Bus Station is changing beyond recognition – from traffic-choked streets to pedestrian-friendly new public spaces – using money from the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund. Great progress is being made outside the new Nottingham College City Hub – itself officially opening at the end of June – and now on Carrington Street. The new paved spaces include a number of planters and trees to bring more accessible greenery to the Broad Marsh area, with more planned to come on Carrington Street and potentially along Collin Street.
- There’s the Broadmarsh shopping centre site itself, with contractors currently preparing the site for demolition of the western section later this year on behalf of the City Council, funded by D2N2. That will allow a new public space to be created to tie in with the Collin Street/Carrington Street improvements and provide a pleasant gateway to the city centre. The Broadmarsh Advisory Group is preparing a masterplan for the siteon behalf of the council, informed by feedback from the Broadmarsh Big Conversation.
- In May, the developer of the Island Quarter Conygar announced details of its masterplan for the site, showing increased amounts of green space, pedestrian and cycle links, hotels and hospitality, office space and community living. The first phase of the development is progressing well and due for completion in early 2022. This is one of the largest city centre development sites in the country and will create an exciting new neighbourhood for Nottingham.
- Construction of the new regional HMRC offices at Unity Square near Nottingham Station has been completed by Sladen Estates, with-fit out underway. The existing HMRC offices at Castle Meadow have planning consent to be converted to canalside residential properties.
- Waterside development continues at Trent Basin, with a pedestrian and cycle bridge across the River Trent planned to be complete by spring 2023 and a new school planned for the site, as well as other private riverside apartments also taking shape between Trent Bridge and Colwick.
- Other developments across the city include a large number of new private residential schemes, with apartments on London Road getting underway later this year, work currently progressing on apartments on Queens Road alongside Nottingham Station, and new homes on Traffic Street, in the Lace Market and on London Road near the BBC. New homes in Arkwright Walk and Arkwright Street are also transforming part of The Meadows, while new offices on Station Street are underway near new student accommodation. Significant heritage-led improvements are underway or have been completed on Station Street, Carrington Street and in and around the Old Market Square and Lace Market to give a new lease of life to old buildings.
City Council Leader, Cllr David Mellen, said: “Lockdown has felt like our lives have been on pause somewhat, but that’s certainly not been the case when it comes to the changing face of our city. There’s a huge amount of exciting development going on which is going to have a transformative effect not only on how parts of the city feel, but also on jobs and opportunities that are available as we come out of the pandemic.
“I’m particularly excited by the different prospects offered by three key developments – the castle, the new library/car park/bus station complex and the college hub – and the vast improvements to the areas in between them. They all breathe new life into the area and will allow visitors, shoppers students and residents to enjoy the city much more.
“There are also developments planned in some of our neighbourhoods, including a new library for Sherwood and lots of new family housing, including council homes in Clifton and Bestwood.”