Council has spent almost £4m securing and looking after Broadmarsh site since intu collapse
The former Broadmarsh Centre (LDRS)
By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
Almost £4 million in taxpayers’ money has been spent securing and looking after Nottingham’s empty Broadmarsh shopping centre site over the last five years.
The 20-acre site was handed to Nottingham City Council after its previous owner, intu, collapsed into administration in 2020.
While the £10m Broadmarsh car park and bus station, new Central Library, and Green Heart park area have already opened, a vast section of the site remains derelict.
A response to a Freedom of Information request, submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, now shows £3.9m has been spent by the authority on holding and security costs for the site.
The council says the holding costs include the use of civil consulting engineers, site management, insurance, utilities, void rates, repairs and maintenance.
Over the period from 2020 to 2025, a total of £2.7m was spent on these holding costs.
A further £1.2m was spent on security costs over the same period.
It comes after senior city councillors agreed to put the land up for sale at an Executive Board meeting on Tuesday (March 18).
One of the reasons cited for the sale was the holding and security costs, which the authority said “would increase substantially soon”.
Cllr Neghat Khan (Lab), leader of the council, has confirmed a public-sector buyer is intending to purchase the land, but said they would not be named publicly until any sale is complete.
“The council took back control of the wider site in July 2020 following the collapse of the intu group,” Cllr Khan said.
“The site was handed over in a partially demolished state with minimal documentation or transitional support. Since then the council has implemented full site management, undertaking gradual demolition of parts of the former shopping centre, and provided 24 hour security and ongoing maintenance.
“Major infrastructure improvements have been delivered, such as the pedestrianisation of Collin Street, creation of the Green Heart and development of new facilities including Central Library, Broadmarsh car park and bus station and the new play area.
“Several options for the site’s future have been explored, and following thorough due diligence to meet the council’s best value duty the recommended approach was to sell the site to a public sector body with a strong track record of delivering complex developments.”
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.
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.
It is expected up to 1,000 new homes will be built alongside 20,000 square-feet of office space, as well as new leisure facilities.
An NHS diagnostics centre is also due to be built in Lister Gate by Nottingham University Hospitals Trust.
The council declined to comment further when asked by the LDRS.
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