Permission has been granted for the transformation of a former college into a headquarters and set of apartment blocks. The old Nottingham College campus in Farnborough Road, Clifton will be partially demolished to be redeveloped into the new headquarters for Nottingham Community Housing Association (NCHA), after plans were approved by Nottingham City Council on March 31.
A new two-storey building incorporating some of the college buildings will be turned into offices, a call centre, a maintenance depot and café. A three-storey building will house 50 independent living apartments and there will also be another two-storey building providing 14 supported living apartments and six bungalows.
The existing gym and changing rooms at the current site will be kept and new infrastructure will be put in place. Locals said they hoped the transformation would "bring new life to the area".
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Alex Perehinec, 18, who lives down the road and is a student, “I think it’s good really, because It has always been a bit ugly honestly. I hope it does bring a new life to the area.”
Dean Taylor, 42, who lives on the street and is a manager at the Fairham pub, added: “It could bring more clientele, a bit more trading and the community together a bit more. Will give a better life to the area, give it a bit more to concentrate on.” Mr Taylor added: “My daughter used to attend the college for arts studies. It was a good college at the time; she enjoyed it.”
NCHA’s head office is currently located in Pelham Road, Sherwood Rise, but planning documents have stated that although these facilities have been expanded and refurbished they are now at capacity and are "outdated". NCHA manages more than 9,700 affordable rent homes, and 1,300 shared ownership and leaseholder homes, and 92 care and support residential projects, supporting 964 residents.
James Rawson, 72, who is retired and lives nearby, said: “I think that might be a bit of noise when they’re doing it, but basically there are some old people’s places so I think at the end of the day I don’t see much trouble.”
Retiree Jean Smith, 86, who lives in the area, added: “It’s a good idea because anything is an improvement. I’m not worried about the noise because I live around the corner.”
In a planning document, Pelham Architects outlined Nottingham Community Housing Association’s vision for the site. "NCHA want to bring all of their management facilities together under one roof in a modern energy-efficient building where they can utilise agile working and have modern flexible spaces for their varied working activities," a planning document said.
"Whilst they want to remain part of Nottingham City they need to be located so that they can access their properties which are located across the East Midlands. The Clifton site provides a unique opportunity for them to do this with its location within the City but with excellent transport links.
"It also provides them with the opportunity to be part of the local community in Clifton, where they will support local sporting facilities that are already established on the site and reinforce this with a range of residential buildings including, 50 apartments for older people, a supported housing project for 14 residents and 6 bungalows."
