Business experts say that problems facing high streets have been "exacerbated" in Nottingham by the state of the Broad Marsh as just over 90 city centre units stand empty. Nottinghamshire Live walked around the centre of Nottingham on Tuesday, January 24, to count how many units in the city were currently vacant.
We found that a total of 93 units were empty on the day, with five appearing to have had offers placed on them and some form of work taking place on two units. The biggest number of empty units was found on Lister Gate, where there was a total of 19 vacant shops.
Lister Gate lies in the shadow of the former Broadmarsh shopping centre, the operating company of which went bust in 2020. Since the collapse of Intu, work has been taking place to shape the future of the Broad Marsh area.
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Nottingham City Council is planning to retain the frame of the former shopping centre, which would then be used as a space to "bring people together in the city for play, performance and food." It is also due to start work on creating a Green Heart in the Broad Marsh, which will see an area the size of the City Ground pitch being turned into parkland.
The authority recently had a bid of £20 million from the Government's Levelling Up Fund rejected, which would have been used on the frame element of the Broad Marsh project. The council says it is still committed to the Broad Marsh project in full, but its leader has said progress may now have been "slowed" by the Government's decision.
Scott Knowles, the Chief Executive of the East Midlands Chamber, says the former shopping centre is now having an impact on the number of empty retail units. Mr Knowles said: "The challenges of the past few years, beginning with the pandemic and continuing with the simultaneous crises in the cost of living and doing business, have impacted heavily on bricks-and-mortar retail.
"This is visible in many cities across the country and in Nottingham, the high street's struggles have been exacerbated by the state of the former Broadmarsh Centre. Having a half-demolished shopping centre at a key entrance to the city centre for the past three years, for reasons understood, has been hugely unfortunate and this will ultimately affect nearby businesses, including those in prime shopping areas such as Lister Gate.
"The scars of this period are also evident in Old Market Square – where once, Debenhams was a titan of the high street and a magnet for other businesses to locate nearby, its closure in 2021 has left a gaping hole in the heart of the city. Clearly, all this creates a significant challenge for Nottingham when it comes to attracting investors."
Other hotspot areas in Nottingham city centre for empty units included Carrington Street, where we counted 12 empty premises, and Wheeler Gate, where we counted seven. William Rossiter, an Associate Professor at Nottingham Trent University's Business School, said: "It's not just the experience of shoppers of course, it's the experience of other remaining retailers that is important. If you are a remaining unit in a street whit a lot of vacancies, that is possibly going to have impacts on the amount of passing trade that you benefit from.
"There are issues around the aesthetic and what it looks and feels like to people who use it, but there are also issues for those remaining retailers because there's always going to be spill-over benefits if you have a lot of retailers close together. Critical mass makes a difference and when that is lost, you've got a problem."
Big names including Jack Wills, Three Mobile and Cath Kidston were among the businesses announcing the closure of their Nottingham stores in 2022. In terms of Nottingham's restaurants and pubs, the sudden closure of the Italian restaurant Ottimo and the loss of the much-loved Hand & Heart within the city's caves were among last year's changes.
Mr Rossiter believes that there needs to be a discussion on how empty units will be used in the future. He said: "There is probably also a case for re-purposing some of those units.
"If there is a surfeit of retail accommodation, maybe we need to be thinking about using those units for other purposes. There are many ways that these things can be used but I do think long-term, we're seeing a significant shift in the demand for premises in our city centres."
Echoing this call was Mr Knowles, who said: "It's important we recognise that the modern-day city centre won't look like it did in the pre-Covid years when retail played a dominant role. Today and tomorrow's successful cities will instead feature a mix of places for people to live, work and spend leisure time, meaning we need to think more broadly and creatively about our future high street proposition."
But speaking about elements of Nottingham city centre that should be a cause for optimism, Mr Knowles added: "There is plenty on the horizon to be optimistic about – even a week on from the major disappointment of the Government turning away Nottingham's Levelling Up Fund bid. There is an ambitious vision for transforming the Broad Marsh area for private investors to get behind, while nearby regeneration projects such as at the Island Quarter and developments on the eastern edge of the city centre provide a compelling case to any new businesses looking to move into the city.
"In the short term, local authorities, landlords and businesses must work together effectively to come up with some new ideas for vacant units, such as offering flexible short-term leases to small businesses that would thrive by moving into a prime location. This brings more customers to the area, giving other companies the confidence to return and ultimately becomes a win-win scenario for everyone involved."
Councillor Rebecca Langton, the Portfolio Holder for Skills, Growth and Economic Development at Nottingham City Council, said: "All cities are seeing a change in shopping habits, with visitor numbers further affected by the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis. However, while some areas like Lister Gate have seen an increase in vacant units, other areas are really thriving such as Hockley, Bridlesmith Gate, Clumber Street and the Victoria Centre.
"As elsewhere, we are looking to enhance additional reasons for visiting the city, which is why we continue to offer a strong events programme, with Light Night returning next month for example. It's also why the Government's rejection of our Broad Marsh bid for Levelling Up funding is so disappointing and short-sighted – it's the sort of scheme that creates a new destination for visitors while encouraging further footfall to nearby shops.
"However, other improvements are continuing, including the Green Heart element of the Broad Marsh site, the new Central Library and surrounding streets and the proposals around the top of Maid Marian Way including the development of a new creative hub. We're also using Government funding to support the city centre with more public realm improvements, as well as providing grants to help businesses taking empty units with shop front improvements, energy efficiency and marketing activity."
The 5 Nottingham streets with the biggest number of empty shops (as of January 24):
- Lister Gate: 19 vacant units
- Carrington Street: 12 vacant units, with offers appearing to have been made on two of them
- Wheeler Gate: 7 vacant units
- Middle Pavement: 6 vacant units
- Derby Road: 5 vacant units, with offers appearing to have been made on one of them
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