Despite levelling up funding setbacks, the city council has moved to reassure people of Nottingham progress will continue on some of the biggest developments transforming the southside of the city centre. Earlier this month, the city council again missed out on levelling up funding, with £20m hoped to have gone on the wider Broad Marsh transformation.
Councillor David Mellen said the authority remained determined to work to ensure the Broad Marsh project was completed in its entirety. The council has since provided a further update on the progress of the Broad Marsh work to expect during the year as well as on wider projects in the area.
Work is to start on the Broad Marsh Green Heart this year; a project which will see an area "the size of the City Ground football pitch" turned into a green urban park, bringing nature into the heart of the city centre and installing, potentially, the longest bench in Europe.
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Work to start on Broad Marsh Green Heart
The Broad Marsh site itself will see work start on the Green Heart element of the scheme later this year. This will see an area the size of the City Ground football pitch turned into a green urban park, complete with extensive planting and wetland/marsh areas, bringing nature into the heart of the city centre, along with walkways and what could be the longest bench in Europe.
This will be created in the area where the western end of the former shopping centre has been demolished and cleared. Master planning to provide detailed proposals in line with the overall vision will also take place this year, with a number of highly regarded contenders lining up to take on this work.
Family-friendly public space and unique area for skateboarding
Linking to this are the streets immediately south of the shopping centre site. Work funded from a successful bid to the government’s Transforming Cities fund will begin later this year turning Collin Street – previously a busy five-lane road through the city – into a pleasant family-friendly space with planting, seating and playable areas overlooked by the new library.
Amphitheatre-style steps at the eastern end lead down to the area in front of the new Nottingham College building on Sussex Street, where more planting and seating have already transformed the space beneath the tram viaduct, which also now boasts a unique skateable space co-designed with local groups for skateboarders close to the City of Caves entrance and Nottingham Contemporary.
Work is continuing to extend the segregated cycle lane and improved pedestrian access through the Broadmarsh area along Canal Street and London Road, linking to the Island Quarter in the east and Castle Boulevard in the west.
New Central Library to open
The fit-out of the new Central Library as part of the bus station and car park complex will be completed later this year, complemented by the Transforming Cities-funded public realm improvements along Carrington Street leading up to Collin Street, and the reduction in traffic along Canal Street, with its new east-west cycle lane. The library will feature a children’s library with a story telling room, extensive book collection and comfortable areas to sit and read, as well as a café and exhibition and performance space.
New buildings on Station Street
Further south, the new Domestic & General office on the pedestrianised section of Station Street is nearing completion, while student accommodation takes shape on the other side of Nottingham Station on Queen’s Road and Traffic Waterway Street.
Major Island Quarter development continues
The Island Quarter is a significant development site with a masterplan in place. This project also missed out on Levelling Up Funding - but Nottingham City Council says developers Conygar are committed to delivering their vision for the site. A new canalside bar and restaurant along with public square and event space has already opened and plans for a new hotel, private apartments, offices and bioscience laboratories are in the pipeline.
New student accommodation is also under construction.
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