By Kit Sandeman, Local Democracy Reporter
Nottingham City Council has admitted to ‘delays’ to the Broadmarsh scheme but is hopeful the revamp will be completed on schedule.
Severe weather over winter meant work on the demolition of the bus station and car park ground to a halt and there have also been other delays caused by the complexities of running several redevelopment schemes simultaneously, the council said.
Demolition work to the bus station and car park began in July last year.
The demolition was due to be completed by April but the date was moved to mid-May after the Beast from the East caused further delays.
That date was moved back again and work was completed at the end of May.
A spokesman for Nottingham City Council said: “Minor delays to the Broadmarsh regeneration project aren’t anything to worry about and are normal in complex major redevelopment programmes like this one.
“Changes to the area will take time but will all be worth the wait when the redeveloped new Intu Broadmarsh, car park, bus station, college and pedestrian friendly area are all completed.
“It will create a welcoming entrance to anyone coming from the south of the city and train station.”
The wider scheme is expected to be completed by summer 2020, a council spokesman confirmed.
The area will see a brand new bus station and car park next to a refurbished Intu shopping centre, a new road layout and the new £58m city hub campus for Nottinghamshire College.
It is part of a major £250m scheme to regenerate the area known as the southern gateway.
Intu, which owns the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre, is set to spend £86m on the redevelopment, which will see a cinema, bowling alley, new shops and food court.
Traffic will also be removed from the roads around the car park to create a pedestrianized area around the shopping centre.
The roads will continue to change significantly.
This work is being done in phases and will see Wilford Street and Queens Road being the main route between Castle Boulevard and London Road.
Traffic restrictions will be brought in on Canal Street and Collin Street.