‘UK’s biggest’ regeneration project approved in Nottingham
Outline plans to develop the high-profile 40-acre former Boots Island site in Nottingham were approved yesterday (April 17).
Plans for the derelict site include new homes, grade A office space, creative market space, a five-star hotel, retail units, a ‘linear’ park and community space and student accommodation.
The council also says hundreds of new jobs will be created, helping to elevate Nottingham as one of the UK’s ‘key regional cities for investors and employers.’
Cllr Chris Gibson, chair of the planning committee said the scheme was the biggest opportunity Nottingham had seen in years.
He said: ‘This is Nottingham’s biggest regeneration scheme to happen in decades and currently the largest in the East Midlands and perhaps the UK.’
The site was once home to a major pharmaceutical factory and is a short walk from the city centre but was abandoned in the late 1980s. It’s size and location led to be it called both an ‘asset and a question mark’Â in a recent council report.
Many proposals over the years have come forward ranging from City Challenge in the early 1990s to the Eastside masterplan designed by Hopkins in 2006 have come forward only to disappear as market conditions have changed.
Property firm Conygar paid £13m for the site in 2016 and Christopher Ware of the company said they were passionate about it being a ‘sustainable development’.
‘This is a long-term phased project which is likely to take up to ten years to complete and will create hundreds of jobs in the region before and after the building work,’ he added.
‘Nottingham is a vibrant and creative city where several exciting developments are taking place and our plans for the site are a key part of this regeneration. We believe this is a unique development which will help to elevate Nottingham’s position in the Midlands and the UK.’
Work is expected to start on site during 2019, with the first phase of office and homes intended to be complete by 2020.