'Early Christmas present' as most of old Broadmarsh Centre to be demolished as soon as possible

Demolition work on most of the old Broadmarsh Centre will begin as soon as possible after major funding was approved in an "early Christmas present" for Nottingham. The 2020 financial collapse of Intu, which had been running the Broadmarsh centre, left the 1970s structure completely vacant and several shops on surrounding streets have since become empty.

Three failed bids to the Levelling Up Fund were made to try and get the previous government to fund work on the Broad Marsh and, given Nottingham City Council's financial crisis, uncertainty has dogged the development. The East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) has now approved more than £3 million for most of the shopping centre's remains to be flattened.

Neghat Khan, Nottingham City Council's leader, said: "We need to get building because we've spoken about building the economy and we've spoken about the empty shops there. I think if now people see that work start, I think it's a really positive sign for investment."

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Half of the former Broadmarsh Centre has already been demolished to make way for the Green Heart, a plant-rich habitat which now sits in the shadow of the remaining Broadmarsh frame. The vision for that remaining half is for a mixed-use site to be created, comprising of 1,600 new homes and 20,000 square metres of office, commercial and leisure space.

The development is expected to create around 2,000 jobs and the plan has always been that a small part of the former shopping centre's frame will be retained, becoming a key feature of the new development. A key issue appears to have been the fact that, although interested in the future project, many developers were unwilling to take on the risk of demolishing most of the old shopping centre's frame.

Speaking about what the funding approved at an EMCCA meeting in Mansfield on Monday (December 16) will now achieve, Councillor Khan said: "It will just clear the path because a lot of developers have talked about the risk regarding the frame, but if they see that one of the biggest barriers goes, it de-risks the whole site and development.

"Any developer would be really keen to get in there now. Once we can say it's gone through the business case, it's passed and we've got the nod, it's go, go, go.

"It's like an early Christmas present to get the first nod through. Hopefully it goes through the business case and then we're ready to go." People walking past the old Broadmarsh Centre on Monday welcomed the news that most of it would now be demolished.

Tyrone Chisanga, 22, a student at Nottingham Trent University who lives in West Bridgford, spoke about the remains of the shopping centre by saying: "I thought it was maybe an old World War destroyed thing. I feel like having a derelict building just there brings down the possible energy.

"It's not really a great impression to be giving. It reflects badly on a city which genuinely is on the up and coming."

Susan Smith, 67, who lives in West Bridgford, said: "It looks a mess. Going up Lister Gate, that's another mess.

"People have all moved out because there's no footfall. Bridlesmith Gate used to be a bit like Bond Street in London with all the posh shops, but they've all gone. You've got to see it to believe it. We've got to get it knocked down first. That'd be a help."

Geoff Freeman, 67, who has lived and worked in the city all his life, said: "About time. It's always been an eyesore. Even when the Broadmarsh Centre was built, people didn't think it was a particularly attractive building.

"I'm glad it's going and it's going to be gone soon. I've lived in Nottingham all my life and I've worked in Nottingham city centre all my life.

"For the last five or six years, coming down Wheeler Gate and these roads that lead up to the Broadmarsh, it's looked like a Soviet city centre really. Closed shops, litter, abandoned buildings, this great big bulking thing up here."

The EMCCA, led by the first ever East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward, will be funding the project to the tune of £3.392 million. The EMCCA was set up with millions in government funding to make local decisions and invest in local projects.

The authority's funding for the Broad Marsh was confirmed along with several Derbyshire projects and £3 million of spending in Bassetlaw to move developments forward at three former coal-fired power stations. Other approved plans will see some empty units in the Broad Marsh area being transformed into a medical hub, run by the Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH), which will see patients being able to access MRI scans, CT scans, ECGs and other medical procedures under one roof.

The city council and EMCCA want to link the Broad Marsh and NHS projects together, meaning that only one contractor is needed for the demolition - clearing the path for both developments. This idea is "time-limited" and so once the business case for the Broad Marsh funding is cleared, Councillor Khan hopes to see demolition work starting within the first half of the New Year.

East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward said: "We know with the Broadmarsh that the city council applied for funding nationally for that project three times and were turned down. That's because when civil servants are sitting in Whitehall, they really don't understand the significance of these types of projects, what it means for our local communities, what it means for the city.

"Anybody who walks through the city will see that it is a real blot on the landscape. The Green Heart was the start of bringing back some regeneration, some colour and a place for the residents to come and visit and that has made a real difference.

"Lots of people are talking about it and lots of people are using it. But we need to progress that site if we want the city to grow, to rejuvenate and to have those jobs and those opportunities."