The changing face of Nottingham over the decades has seen some major redevelopments - out with the old and in with the new. Some of the city's prominent buildings - considered no longer fit for purpose - have been bulldozed and replaced by new builds more in keeping with the times.
You can't stop progress - nor can you stop campaigners venting their anger when they disagree with the decision to raze historic buildings to the ground. That said, by granting a building listed status, it can throw a spanner in the works.
That was the case earlier this month when Nottingham's former central police and fire station in Shakespeare Street was given Grade II-listed status, saving the historic buildings from demolition.
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The 1930s bomb-proof properties, which had been sold off after being declared financially unviable in 2013, were due to be knocked down and replaced by 900-bed student flats. Listing marks and celebrates the site’s special architectural and historic interest, and also brings it under the consideration of the planning system so it can be protected for the future.
Hilary Silvester, the executive chair of Nottingham Civic Society, said first and foremost it's preferable to see if buildings generally can be preserved and converted. She said: "Buildings give people a sense of history. You look down into the city and quite an historic skyline and these buildings are part of that and very often are attractive buildings
"They are not only part of the social history of Nottingham and the industrial history of Nottingham but also the physical streetscape. We think it's important to keep them and if possible find a reusable purpose rather than demolish.
"It's important to look at individual buildings. Can they be preserved, can they be reused for something else? We need to take a longer view of the city and its appearance, its character rather than keep knocking it down and putting something else up that doesn't necessarily look appropriate."
One concern is the number of new high-rise buildings being constructed in the city. Ms Silvester said: "I know people say the modern buildings are good but they can be very intrusive. Nottingham has quite an old skyline. Compared with cities like Leeds and Manchester it's quite low-rise."
Bringing environmental factors into the debate, both demolition and construction can involve considerable carbon emissions, added Ms Silvester. "There's a growing acceptance that we should clean, restore and learn to appreciate the qualities of our existing distinctive streetscapes and character of our city."
Here's some of the landmark buildings Nottingham has lost in the last 50 years or so.
ABC Cinema
The cinema opened in Chapel Bar in 1939, first showing the movie adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s classic novel Jamaica Inn. Called the ABC Carlton at the time, it could seat 2,000 film buffs - making it the third largest cinema in the city.
It staged several Midlands premieres. Gregory Peck came for the screening of Captain Horatio Hornblower in 1953 and in 1960 the cinema screened the regional premiere of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. Based on the book by local author Alan Sillitoe, it was shot in the city.
The cinema went from just one screen to three after a revamp in 1974. The ABC, on the corner of Chapel Bar and Mount Street, closed in July 1999 with screenings of The Mummy, Ten Things I Hate About You and Notting Hill.
There had been plans to build a 14-screen multiplex on the site, but these were turned down. The cinema was demolished in 2001. The site is now home to Las Iguanas, closed-down bar Olivia's Townhouse, Sushi Mania and Premier Inn hotel.
County Hotel
The Victorian hotel stood to the left of Nottingham's Theatre Royal. The building was demolished in 1975 as part of plans to refurbish the theatre - a controversial decision.
A heated debate in the local press followed - on one side campaigners wanting to preserve Nottingham’s Victorian past versus those who wanted to modernise the theatre.
Today the space it occupied is used for the theatre's dressing rooms, stage door and offices. One of the things people remember about the hotel, apart from going to wedding receptions there, is the grandfather clock with sun and moon phase dials and the words 'tempus fugit,' Latin for time flies.
Comic duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy turned their hand to making Christmas puddings at the hotel - previously known as the Clarendon Hotel - in December, 1953.
Victoria Railway Station
If you moved to Nottingham or were born after 1972 all you'd remember at this spot is Victoria Centre. But prior to that it was the site of the city's second railway station.
A joint venture by the Great Central and Great Northern Railway companies, the station opened in May, 1900, as Nottingham Central, a name which soon changed to Nottingham Victoria to mark Queen Victoria’s birthday.
Costing £473,000 to build (£61million in today’s money), some entire streets had to be demolished to make way for the 13-acre station. Around 1,300 houses, 24 pubs and St Stephen’s Church in Bunkers Hill were razed to the ground.
In turn the station closed in 1967 and was demolished to make way for the 1970s shopping centre, which still remains a prominent feature in the city centre today.
Black Boy Hotel
The demolition of the Black Boy Hotel was probably the most controversial in the city's history with people openly weeping in the street as a wrecking ball smashed into the building. Designed by renowned Nottingham architect, Watson Fothergill, the Bavarian-style hotel was built in 1886, replacing a fire-ravaged coaching inn that dated back to the 17th century.
The 90-bed hotel was considered one of the most up-to-date across the Midlands, with an unrivalled reputation for banqueting when it opened and during the golden years of the 1950s it welcomed celebrities including Gracie Fields, George Formby, Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier and a number of sports stars.
In one of the biggest planning rows of the era - and it still stings in the memories of some today - the building was demolished in 1970, making way for the very typical of its time brick and concrete block which housed Littlewoods, and now Primark in Long Row.
Nottingham Evening Post
The former offices of the Nottingham Evening Post were quite a landmark, built by newspaper proprietor Thomas Forman on the corner of Sherwood Street and what was then known as North Street.
He bought the plot of land in 1870 to relocate his Daily Guardian paper from Long Row. The building was completed in 1871 but within seven years it had a new title - the Nottingham Evening Post.
Thomas Forman died in 1888, and in 1905 North Street was renamed Forman Street. The Post moved to Castle Wharf in 1998. The Cornerhouse leisure complex was built on the site - a complete contrast in design with its very contemporary glass frontage.
Building work, at a cost of £50m, took two years, with the complex opening in 2001. Today the five floors of entertainment including a cinema, bars, restaurants, a casino and adventure golf, attract around nine million visitors a year.
Broadmarsh
A significant section of the former 1970s shopping centre has now been flattened after its demise during the pandemic. Broadsmarsh opened to the public in 1975 and over the next four decades was home to big names such as BHS, Argos, Wimpy, Sainsbury's and Wilko.
A long-awaited £89m regeneration of the centre began in 2019, with plans including a new Hollywood Bowl and Light Cinema. However, the revamp stopped in March 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Three months later owners intu went bust and the lease was handed to the city council.
There are now plans for the 20-acre site to become a 'Green Heart' the size of Nottingham Forest's pitch with trees, planting and pathways, between Nottingham railway station and Old Market Square. London-based urban designer Thomas Heatherwick, who is at he helm of the proposals, has drawn inspiration from popular attractions across the world.
The 1970s concrete block is one building Hilary Silvester, of Nottingham Civic Society, isn't sad to see the back of. "Definitely, that shouldn't have been there in my opinion. It was not an elegant building. It was a big intrusive building in not the right place. I am delighted we have seen the back of most of that building. Apart from Broadmarsh I can't think of anything I would say good riddance to."
Holy Trinity Church
Parking up at Trinity Square car park, it's hard to imagine a church with the city's highest spire once stood at that spot. Holy Trinity Church was pulled down at the end of the 1950s after nearly 120 years.
The foundation stone for the the Victorian High Gothic masterpiece was laid in 1840, and the building was consecrated by John Kaye, Bishop of Lincoln, on October 3, 1841.
During the early 1900s, there was a mass demolition of housing to the east of the church. Thousands of residents were relocated to other districts to allow the construction of a new railway line and Nottingham Victoria Station. As the population fell, so did numbers in the congregation.
In 1941, a century after it had opened, the church lost its iconic 171ft spire as a result of a German air raid. Although it wasn't a direct hit, the damage was enough for it to be declared unsafe. Its removal was another blow for the church as the congregation continued to dwindle.
However, there was a huge public outcry when, in 1953, the council revealed plans to demolish the church and redevelop Trinity Square. Around 16,000 opponents signed a petition but the demolition went ahead in 1957-1958.
The city's first multi-storey car park was built on the site in the early 1960s with space for 411 cars - and it went on to be featured on lists of Nottingham's ugliest buildings. It was demolished in 2006 and replaced by a new car park as part of a wider £70m Trinity Square redevelopment with flats up above.
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