Nottingham City Council is outlining a vision for future development in the Eastside Area of the city, and is set to seek people’s views.
The council aims to create a framework, which will help shape development in this part of the city in the future, such as good quality public spaces, strengthened links and connectivity to other parts of the city, high sustainability standards and a good balance of housing types.
Known as the Eastside Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), it covers an area to the east of the Victoria shopping centre as far as St Mary’s Rest Garden and Victoria Park and down to Sneinton Market, which includes parts of the Creative Quarter. The council’s planning officers and Planning Committee members will use this when deciding whether to allow or refuse planning permissions, alongside other national and local documents.
Eastside is at the centre of Nottingham’s digital media, gaming, TV and film industries. The recent redevelopment of the Sneinton Market Avenues has created a vibrant centre for creative and digital businesses, and there is interest in further developments in the area, which has seen significant changes in recent years.
The draft SPD, being considered for consultation by the council’s Executive Board next week, sets out the council’s vision for the area and provides additional planning guidance, alongside the Local Plan, to help shape and guide future developments. Once adopted, planning officers and members of the Planning Committee will be able to use the Eastside SPD to provide developers with additional planning guidance.
The SPD will help to:
- Create a balance in the type of homes being developed
- Provide guidance on the type of development required to support the local area, surrounding communities and Creative Quarter
- Ensure new development in the area achieves a high level of environmental sustainability to support a low carbon future and respond to the Council’s Carbon Neutral 2028 pledge.
- Create new and enhanced public realm and public open spaces, transport and pedestrian routes and protect and enhance heritage assets.
Eastside is home to the nationally recognised Confetti Institute for Creative Technology, Antenna, a co-working facility for the creative community and Metronome, a 400-capacity live performance venue. The area also contains a mix of low-level office, retail and leisure spaces, along with a number of sizeable light industrial and trade warehousing units.
Photo credit: Martine Hamilton Knight
Nottingham Trent University’s City Campus has a strong presence close to the Eastside and in recent years, has become increasingly attractive to Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) developers. However, the area also appeals to investors in build-to-rent schemes, and other residential schemes like the development of the Fruit Market by Blueprint.
Cllr Linda Woodings, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Housing and Heritage at Nottingham City Council, said: “Eastside is an important part of Nottingham’s economic renewal and recovery.
“With increasing interest in the area by investors and private developers, the City Council wants to ensure that new development supports the local community and businesses with good connections to jobs, services and leisure opportunities.
“Once adopted, the Eastside Supplementary Planning Document will provide developers with guidance on what we would like to see developed in the area and how. This includes a balance in the type of housing being created, improvements to the environment, such as open space and the public realm, protection and enhancement of heritage assets where possible and the creation of better connections from the city centre into the area and surrounding communities.”
Over the last few years, a number of significant regeneration projects have been underway in the city close to the Eastside area with extensive public realm improvements surrounding the new Broad Marsh Car Park and Bus Station, the recently completed Nottingham College hub and works have begun on the first phase of the Island Quarter.
If the SPD gets Executive Board approval, a public consultation is expected to begin in July.