Council agrees to sell Broadmarsh land to ‘public-sector buyer’
The former Broadmarsh Centre (LDRS)
By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
Senior Nottingham councillors have agreed to sell the former Broadmarsh Centre land to a “public-sector buyer” – paving the way for redevelopment.
Nottingham City Council agreed to put the land up for sale at an Executive Board meeting on Tuesday (March 18).
During the meeting Cllr Neghat Khan (Lab), leader of the council, confirmed a public-sector buyer was intending to purchase the land.
The entire site will be sold off-market for redevelopment, but the buyer has not yet been named publicly.
Council documents say building work on the shopping centre area following its demolition is not expected to start until 2029 – nine years after it first closed following the collapse of intu.
Cllr Khan told the Local Democracy Reporting Service in September last year she hoped work on the former shopping centre would be completed by 2027.
“I think I was being too eager for that,” she said, speaking after the meeting on Tuesday.
“But I think the current buyer is also being cautious of the approach, because we know we have got the money from East Midlands Combined County Authority, and the NHS diagnostics centre work should start within the next couple of months.
“Once that goes up, and the buyer is selling it in pieces, development could start a lot earlier. But overall for the whole site to be completed we are looking at [2029/30].
“The buyer doesn’t want to be revealed at the moment, and for me as the leader of the council it is important we get this sale over the line. There will be an announcement once we get this signed and the money is in the bank.”
The entire site being sold includes the remains of the shopping centre, the cleared site to the west of the Green Heart, the NCP multi-storey car park, Severns House and the old college site on Maid Marian Way.
National Car Parks (NCP) currently leases the land from the council, on which it operates the car park.
Discussing its future, Cllr Khan added: “Since we opened the Broadmarsh car park their usage has dropped, their revenue has dropped in there.
“So I think they see that. We are in negotiations and they have been quite positive about it. I think we will get an agreement with them to move out, but it will be in the next year or two.”
On February 24 the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) agreed to give almost £3.4m to the continued demolition of the former shopping centre.
The entire demolition project is expected to cost £29.3 million and is due to start in July this year, before finishing in July 2026.
Under a previous plan unveiled in 2021 – drawn up with the help of urban designer Thomas Heatherwick – a vast part the former shopping centre’s external frame was intended to be re-purposed for “innovative” new spaces.
However, in May last year the council published its revised masterplan, which instead retained a much smaller section of the frame following concerns from potential developers and investors.
It is anticipated up to 1,000 new homes will be built alongside 20,000 square-feet of office space, as well as new leisure facilities.
“I’m not sure quite where they will go as that will depend on the buyer,” Cllr Khan added.
“We have got the masterplan, but whether they fully stick to that we can’t make them, because it is a land transaction.
“They acknowledge what the people of Nottingham want, but it might not be exactly as we envisage it to be.”
NCP has been contacted for comment.
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