The new walkway through Broad Marsh has officially opened - and some of the first people to use it said it marked a sign of the 'overwhelming change' around the site. The route, between Collin Street and Lister Gate, replaces the covered passage through the old shopping centre, which provided a link to the city centre from the railway station.
The new walkway will eventually feature views of the new 'Green Heart', called Lister Square, with a Major Oak the focal point. The walkway will be brightly lit with new lighting and monitored with CCTV along with bollards at either end, fenced off from the demolition site, at either side.
While work on the redevelopment of the western side of the shopping centre has been progressing, millions of pounds in levelling up cash is sought to redevelop the rest of the site under an ambition led by leading urban designers to build 700 homes, a hotel, create a new entrance to the City of Caves and re-use the shopping centre frame.
Shoppers Ronald Casboult, 71, and Sheryl Casboult, 66, from Long Eaton, were among the first people to make use of the new walkway on Friday (September 9), the day it opened. They said it formed part of huge change for this part of the southside of the city.
"It looks like a bomb has gone off here at the minute, to be honest. We were just trying to figure out where everything used to be as we haven't been into the city for a while," Mr Casboult said.
"It will be nice to have green space with it. They've done a good job with the path's tarmac at least, it's a good sign that something is happening here."
Mrs Casboult added: "We haven't been here for ages. It's really shocked us how the city centre looks now, the biggest shock in our life. The amount of change is overwhelming. Hopefully it all works out for the city in the end."
The four-metre-wide tarmac walkway is fenced off from the demolition taking place on either side, with windows in the fencing for people to see progress on the site. Shirley Timmins, 78, who is retired and from West Bridgford, said: "It's [the wider development] not even half finished, the path at least symbolises progress being made.
"The tunnel was a bit of a pain when it closed at 7pm and it wasn't very appealing. Whatever the problems, they really need to push on and get it done. All the main buildings like the train station and bus station are on the other side but at the moment the gateway to the city is awful. Once it is done I think people will take up the shops and Lister Gate and it will look a lot better."
Retired Peter Stone, who is 86 years old and from The Meadows, added: "It's a good sign that it's moving towards the plans. I was worried it was going to go on forever. I did not care much for the tunnel - it was a bit crowded when it was busy. I wish the whole thing would hurry up and bring some of the shops back on Lister Gate."
The regeneration of the former shopping centre has been tumultuous over the past decade. Following the recent collapse of its former owner intu it was handed back to Nottingham City Council which, upon a public consultation, eventually unveiled a new vision for the condemned site in December last year.
Despite the council's initial failed bid for £20m from the Conservative Government's Levelling Up fund, which would have given the authority the required cash to further progress the site, work on the western side has been able to continue. The demolition of this area, where Boots once stood, is now almost complete.
Money from the Government's Transforming Cities fund, which has already been secured, will be used to pay for the so-called Green Heart. The city council has since submitted a fresh £57m bid for levelling up funding, of which a portion would fund the wider redevelopment of the shopping centre if successful.
Nottingham City Council Leader, David Mellen, said: “The opening of this route is a small but significant step in the redevelopment of the Broad Marsh area. It is the first time since the 1970s that people will have uninterrupted open air access between the Southside of the city into the city centre.
“The space that it crosses, created by demolishing the western end of the old shopping centre, is proposed to become the ‘green heart’ of the vision for Broad Marsh – a total transformation from what was there before. It comes as progress continues on fitting out the new Central Library and surrounding streets and as we await the Government decision on our bid for £20m for Levelling Up Funding to start to bring the Broad Marsh vision to life.”
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