A detailed vision of how the derelict Broadmarsh shopping centre in Nottingham City Centre could be developed has been revealed.
Nottingham City Council said the shell of the former shopping centre could be “ retained, reimagined and rewilded into a unique space to bring people together in the city”.
The plans, drawn up by the Greater Broad Marsh Advisory Group, suggest it could deliver 6,000 jobs, more than 400,000 sq ft of commercial and business space and 750 homes.
The advisory group was set up by the city council last March 2021 to draw up a “once in many generations” vision for regeneration following the impacts of Covid-19 and the impact of online retailing on the high street.
It brought in Heatherwick Studio – led by British designer Thomas Heatherwick – and Stories, a leading socially responsible development company, to work on vision.
The 20 acre site includes the former, part demolished shopping centre which was handed back to the city council when owner Intu went into administration at the start of the pandemic.
The key elements include:
• Reinstating many of Nottingham’s lost street connections
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• A wildlife-rich “green heart”, creating a “beautiful, tranquil core to the city”
• Some 750 new homes on the the west side of the site, looking up at Nottingham Castle
• New commercial and mixed use buildings, offering business and office space, conference space, and ground floor retail, which could support more than 3,000 jobs
• Keeping some of the structural frame of the Broadmarsh shopping centre for “play, performance and food”
• A new Art Hotel above The Caves in the existing Severns House giving tourists the chance to sleep right above the caves and form part of a new heritage and culture trail through the city centre.
The advisory group said Nottingham City Council should act as the custodians of the site, and attract public and private sector investment through a new body, provisionally called ‘The Broad Marsh Development Partnership’.
It believes the next stage of the project, lasting two to three years, will require around £5 to £6 million of investment, and that the priority should be demolition, masterplanning, legal work on title, and preparation to take its vision to the private and public sector markets.
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The advisory group also said the return on investment would be “unprecedented in the city’s history” with the physical redevelopment worth in the region of £500 million.
Thomas Heatherwick said: “The challenge of what to do with the former Broadmarsh shopping centre has been a chance to think about the failure of our city centres.
“They should be about bringing people together, not just about retail. Rather than demolish the structure, we are proposing to keep the frame and breathe new life into it, creating a place that can hold the diversity and vibrancy that is so lacking from many city centres.
“The aim is to bridge between generations, communities, and cultures so that the new Broad Marsh can reflect the true diversity of the city.
“In the fog of Covid-19, Nottingham has seized the opportunity to create a new blueprint for the future of city centres.”
Independent Chair of the Greater Broad Marsh Advisory Group, Greg Nugent, said: “Out of the adversity of the collapse of Intu comes a chance for Nottingham to build a new kind of city centre.
“Thomas Heatherwick’s vision creates a blueprint for a city that wants to reinvent itself, ready for life beyond Covid-19.”
Nottingham City Council leader Coun David Mellen said: “I would like to thank the advisory board, Heatherwick Studio and the team at Stories for their creativity, hard work and ambition.
“When Heatherwick Studio was commissioned to create a new vision for Broad Marsh, there were some key things I was keen for it to include.
“I think Thomas and his team have delivered on all of them.
“It includes a substantial green space via a ‘green heart’ at the centre of the vision. It will lead to over 750 homes and 6,000 jobs for local people.
“By proposing to make some use of the existing frame, reducing the waste and carbon emissions from new construction, it is sustainable, something which is very important for the city’s ambition to be the 海角视频’s first carbon neutral city by 2028.
“And it respects and promotes the city’s rich heritage by opening up views to the castle, enhancing the caves, one of the city’s hidden gems, and re-establishing old street patterns.
“Now we will begin the important work necessary to test the new vision and our ability to realise it.
Nottingham actor Vicky McClure, who is the founder of BYO Films and a member of the advisory group, said: “This is a visionary and beautiful solution for our city.
“Nottingham leading the way once again and showing how cities can grow and adapt sustainably and creatively.
“I have been lucky to speak to Thomas Heatherwick and the teams involved through the design process and have been blown away by their ideas and depth of thinking.
“Huge credit to Heatherwick Studios, Stories, Greg Nugent and the rest of the advisory group for their dedication to our city.”