Nottingham has a variety of different housing needs and as a landlord, housing provider and planning authority, the City Council has a significant role to play. From council and affordable housing, to private residential developments to buy or rent, and eco-friendly and sustainable housing, hundreds of new homes are being built all over the city to meet these needs.
As a diverse city, we need to ensure we have housing, which is suitable for families, older people, professionals, couples, single people, and students – aiming for environmentally sustainable housing wherever possible.
Whether private developments or council housing, Nottingham needs over 1,000 new quality homes of all types each year over the next decade. This includes greener, more energy efficient homes, low-cost homes to rent or buy, and social, affordable homes and homes for the homeless, which are safe and warm to help improve health, wellbeing and prevent ill health. Some of these developments are already underway, with many more in the pipeline.
Within easy reach of the city centre, hundreds of homes are planned to be built as part of the Island Quarter Development and long-held ambitions to create a new riverside residential neighbourhood with its own identity and character are already underway at nearby Waterside. A whole new community is being built with Blueprint at Trent Basin, continuing to transform the area and acting as a catalyst for other developers to build hundreds of new homes.
Significant changes have also been happening in the city centre. 350 new private rented apartments at Saffron Court on Crocus Street, close to Nottingham Station, will soon be joined by another 90 apartments on the former Shell filling station on the London Road Roundabout, 115 apartments on Short Hill and another 350 residential apartments, which are currently being built on Queen’s Road. Along with a further 122 private rental apartments at Chaney Place on London Road, which are due to start on site this year, all represent just of few of the private developments already underway or in the pipeline.
Many private sale residential schemes are also being built, to cater for growing families and include Woodborough Road in Mapperley, Denewood Crescent in Aspley, Martins Reach in Wollaton and Chalfont Drive, in Bilborough. A planning application is also imminent from ilke Homes for over 600 new homes, as part of a partnership with Boots, on an unused part of their headquarters site at Thane Road.
Not everyone wants or can afford to buy a home. Some need the flexibility the private rented sector can provide, others need lower rents or the security and stability that social housing offers. With our arms-length housing management company, Nottingham City Homes, 650 new council houses have already been built with nearly 300 more planned or in the pipeline across Nottingham, over the next two years. These include Beckhampton and Eastglade in Bestwood and Top Valley. The City Council also work with Registered Providers, who provide affordable housing for rent to help meet Nottingham’s needs.
Cllr Linda Woodings, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Housing and Heritage at Nottingham City Council said, “Nottingham has seen a significant amount of changes over the last few years. New offices such as HMRC at Unity Square, the Broad Marsh car park, bus station and library, The Nottingham College City Hub, and a number of private Purpose Built Student accommodation developments to help meet growing student numbers, are all helping to enhance Nottingham’s reputation as a place to build and invest, creating jobs and supporting our local economy.
“Sometimes, it’s easy to think that this is the only type of development which has been happening, but actually a considerable number of residential schemes have been built all across Nottingham and many more are coming forward to help meet the growing and diverse needs of our residents.
“What some see as affordable, isn’t always affordable to others, so building quality homes at different prices allows people to move into different homes, so they don’t have to move out of the city to find the home they want. This helps to free up more affordable housing for those who need it and helps the local economy”.