Environmental campaigners are calling on Nottingham City Council to build the next Broad Marsh so sustainably that it will last for at least 150 years. The redevelopment of the 20-acre Broad Marsh site is one of the most significant city centre projects in the UK.
Following the collapse of intu, the owners of the former shopping centre, work began in 2020 on deciding the future of the site. Among the plans already revealed are for the shell of the old shopping centre to be reused and turned into a "unique structure" in the heart of Nottingham.
Work is also progressing on a 'green heart' in the Broad Marsh, with an area the size of the City Ground pitch set to be covered in trees and planting. But as a crucial decision on £20 million of funding for the project is expected this month, environmental campaigners are now calling on Nottingham City Council to be clearer on how environmentally friendly the new Broad Marsh will be.
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A letter has been sent to the council signed by figures including former Nottingham South MP Alan Simpson and Cath Sutherland, the Chairperson of the Nottingham Green Party. Cath Sutherland said: "We have called for 70% of that area to be parkland and it's going to end up being about 20% as the plans currently stand.
"Our key point is that the Broad Marsh redevelopment is a massive opportunity for Nottingham to do something that is environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive and we shouldn't waste this chance to set an example. I think what the council has said so far in terms of the sustainability of the project has been pretty vague and we need some more clarity because a lot of carbon is produced in the destruction of a site, so this one should be so forward-looking that it can last for 150 years.
"The council should be bold in only accepting tenders from organisations that are committed to sustainability in their construction, but the worry is that because of the difficult financial situation the council is in, it will just be thinking in a short-term way about this. Similarly, we need to make sure that the Broad Marsh doesn't just become a place full of luxury retailers.
"We're not saying there shouldn't be any, but alongside them should be services which all citizens of Nottingham can use. We want to see charities there, independent retailers and agencies for helping the unemployed and the homeless.
"We can't just gentrify the area so that only those people who can afford a £3 cup of coffee and a nice meal out get to enjoy the Broad Marsh. But once again, the fear is that the council's financial situation means it will just think short-term about this."
Part of the letter sent to the council by the campaigners reads: "We are concerned about the sustainability of the new buildings on the site. We believe that the council is going to commission a masterplan.
"Will the brief for the masterplan include a requirement that the design brief for all tender documents includes the highest environmental standard? Will only tenders meeting the highest environmental standards be considered?"
Nottingham City Council's Portfolio Holder for Energy, Environment and Waste, Councillor Sally Longford, responded to the concerns raised by saying: "Work that we have already undertaken demonstrates our commitment to improving the environment in this part of the city, as part of our ambition to be the UK's first carbon neutral city by 2028.
"We have removed thousands of vehicles from what were previously traffic-choked roads along Collin Street and Canal Street. We have introduced extensive planting, cycle lanes and pedestrian-friendly areas. Our new Broad Marsh car park's green credentials have earned it a national sustainability award.
"The Green Heart proposals will create a new green space the size of the City Ground pitch for people to spend time and wander through, bringing nature to the heart of the city centre. Our vision to repurpose the Frame of the remaining part of the shopping centre would mean we don’t waste the embodied carbon used when it was built.
"We will produce a masterplan this year that sets out how we can achieve the Broad Marsh vision strategy. A key part of this will be high sustainability credentials and financially viability, which will help inform the best long-term ownership and development strategy."
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