Calls for progress at a landmark Nottingham building are growing after plans to demolish it were dramatically halted. Developers had planned to demolish the former central police and fire station, which fronts Shakespeare Street, North Church Street and South Sherwood Street, and replace it with a more than 900-bed student scheme.
The scheme was recommended for approval ahead of Nottingham City Council's planning committee on January 18, but was withdrawn shortly before going before councillors, as the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) had given the 1930s building Grade-II listed status. This afforded it greater protection under planning rules, halting the plans to demolish the building and bringing its future into uncertainty.
More than four months since the plans for the station were pulled from the city council committee, a spokesperson for Vita Group confirmed there was no update on the plans for the building. This has resulted in calls for fresh ideas on how to use the prominent building to be devised, including from Historic England, which had advised DCMS to recognise the historic and architectural value of the structure previously.
