The redevelopment of the former Broadmarsh Centre should take inspiration from similar successes in New York and London to temp investors back to the site following "a succession of false dawns", experts have said. The half-demolished centre, which now sits in the Greater Broad Marsh area, will form a large part of the regeneration of the southern side of Nottingham.
In December last year a new vision for the Greater Broad Marsh area, which is roughly the size of Wembley Stadium, was unveiled by the project's advisory group. Nottingham City Council had established the group, which is chaired by the Nottingham Project's Greg Nugent, after shopping centre giant intu collapsed into administration in 2020.
Intu's old vision for the site, which included a new cinema and bowling alley, was buried deep within the heap of rubble and twisted concrete that remained. Demolition had begun and ceased within a single year and the coronavirus pandemic had been the final nail in the coffin for the retail-focused future of the site.
Read more: Green heart of Broad Marsh could arrive at similar time to the library opening in 2023
Now however the city has been gifted an entirely blank canvas to begin anew. So far a new vision has been thought up, with the help of world-renown urban designer Thomas Heatherwick and his studio, revealing plans for 700 new apartments, a hotel, a new entrance to the caves and a green area known as Lister Square.
To bring the vision to life inspiration will have to be drawn from successful developments across the UK and indeed the world, maximising investment potential and success for the end result. Nelson Blackley, an independent retail analyst in the city, believes much could be learned from Coal Drops Yard in London, which forms the retail core of the multi-billion pound transformation of King's Cross.
The successful shopping destination and 'foodie hotspot' has, over the past 15 years, replaced derelict rail works next to the Regent’s Canal. Speaking of why Mr Blackley said: "Whilst the huge project to transform the 20-acre Broad Marsh site will take years to complete, perhaps even up to a decade, it is clearly important for the economy of the wider Nottingham area, particularly the so-called ‘southern gateway’ to the city centre, that this is done in a timely manner and that work on the first phases are seen to be starting sooner than later.
"This will provide confidence to both the local community and potential commercial investors, which understandably is extremely low given the succession of ‘false dawns’ in the past ten years about the redevelopment of the now partially demolished shopping centre.
"One of the ambitions for Coal Drops Yard has been to provide a quarter filled with authentic experiences and as modern-day evolutions of medieval marketplaces. Its wide-open spaces host a unique mix of global and independent brands, as well as other activities including photography exhibitions, pottery workshops, free music performances and temporary art installations.
"Lower Stable Street, in Coal Drops Yard, acts as an incubator for emerging and experimental brands, with not just shops but pop-ups, events and workshops, and a weekend market where visitors can browse the stalls for food, fashion, books, art and more.
"The monthly Drops market, on Lower Stable Street, features the freshest new brands and unique up-and-coming designer, with a continually changing range of stalls, as well as a selection of emerging fashion designers. I believe that many of these elements in a regenerated Broad Marsh would provide the interest and authenticity most people now want from their retail spaces, as well as a much greater representation from local artisan and independent traders."
Thomas Heatherwick, the urban designer famed for a number of inspiring but sometimes controversial structures, has also said part of the original shopping centre frame will be utilised in a similar way to the 'High Line' in the Big Apple. In New York a 1.4-mile long section of an elevated railway has been transformed into a popular city park, and it is this that has inspired the so-called 'Frame' element of the new Broad Marsh vision.
Mr Heatherwick had previously told Nottinghamshire Live he wanted to retain the "bones" of the structure and in the vision unveiled in December he announced a structure known as 'The Frame'. The skeleton of part of the old shopping centre, and the section that remains intact, would be reutilised for retail and events space.
It would be 'rewilded' to allow nature to reclaim some of its stake on the environment and the city centre, similar in that to the High Line park in New York, where the elevated rail line was reused and a park built on it instead of in its place.
