A scheme to create a new public space outside Nottingham Station is progressing so well that the first half can be opened to the public before Christmas and the second stage of improvements can start in the New Year.
Station Street in Nottingham city centre is currently being transformed from what was a traffic-choked side street into a brand new public space. As well as catering for the seven million plus passengers who used Nottingham Station each year, it will also create new opportunities for pavement cafes and pop-up markets when the improvements are complete. The scheme is progressing so well that all phases, including the final one-way traffic loop along Trent Street and the London Road end of Station Street, should be complete by the end of July next year.
The £1.375 million scheme, which is benefitting from both European funding and national Government funding which the council secured through the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and City Deal, is seeing new high quality paving and surfaces laid. New street lighting will be installed and trees planted to regenerate the area around the city’s railway station, complementing the station’s recent £60 million transformation, the new integrated tram stop, and a £1.4 million Townscape Heritage programme which will restore historical shop fronts in the Carrington Street area to create a more attractive thoroughfare into the city centre from the south.
From next Wednesday, 23 December, works machinery and as many barriers as possible will be removed from Station Street to make it easier for pedestrians to access the railway station over the Christmas period.
Traffic changes to Carrington Street
Also, from next Wednesday, Carrington Street outside the front of the station, between Queen’s Road and Station Street, will be open only for buses and cyclists. Large delivery vehicles will be able to use this section of Carrington Street temporarily via a special waiver because of the Station Street works. The council has contacted businesses to issue delivery waivers but anyone else who is likely to need delivery access should contact traffic.management@nottinghamcity.gov.uk by Wednesday 23 December.
From Monday, 4 January 2016, the rest of Carrington Street from Station Street to Canal Street will also be accessible only for buses, cyclists and delivery vehicles for businesses on Carrington Street and Station Street. This arrangement will remain in place for at least 18 months and will be monitored before a decision is made on whether to make it permanent.
The final stage of the public space improvements on Station Street will also start on Monday 4 January near Trent Street. To be able to carry out this stage of the improvement work, access to private car parks and businesses on this section of Station Street will be from Carrington Street via a waiver system. The council has contacted regular car park users and businesses to provide free waivers, but anyone else who is likely to need access should contact traffic.management@nottinghamcity.gov.uk by Thursday 31 December. Anyone accessing Station Street from Carrington Street from 4 January 2016 without a special waiver risks receiving a fine.
Councillor Nick McDonald, Portfolio Holder for Jobs, Growth and Transport, said: “The improvements to Station Street are really gathering momentum now and when the temporary barriers are removed in preparation for the extra travellers coming into Nottingham over Christmas and New Year, people will really begin to see what a fantastic new public space is being created and how much easier it will be for pedestrians. “Once the improvements are completed and the new traffic arrangements along Carrington Street and further enhancements through the restoration of historic shop fronts on Carrington Street are in place, the wider area can then begin to be transformed and regenerated into a fantastic gateway to the city.”
The improvements on the remainder of Station Street to create a one-way traffic loop along Trent Street and Station Street towards London Road to improve the flow of traffic will start after the new public space is completed.
The new public space being created is funded by Nottingham City Council, the European Regional Development Fund and the Government through City Deal and the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership’s Local Growth Fund.