Plans for the size and position of the new Broadmarsh car park have been drawn up by Nottingham City Council.
The authority’s planning committee met today to discuss the designs and make comments ahead of the submission of its formal planning application.
It comes after the council’s executive board decided the current car park should be knocked down because it would be cheaper in the long run for taxpayers.
The current car park and bus station will close on July 10 and demolition will start almost immediately after.
During the demolition, around 870 car park spaces will be lost in the city centre.
Chair of the committee and councillor Chris Gibson said: “I welcome this in principle – it shows there is ambition to get it right and for it to look good.
“I was apprehensive about the height of the building on the south side because of the views of the castle to the south but the plans do not look like they will do harm.
“Knowing how some of the bridges we have had here look in the past, they have never looked the most pretty things but we want to make it look like a good route.”
The car park designs incorporated the possibility of residential flats but this caused concern for one of committee members.
Councillor Malcolm Wood said: “We were all very supportive of the developments but I would ask for the consideration of the dangers of having any residential area.
“We need to be conscious of pollution levels as they could be very high – we will need a risk analysis so that there will not be any dangers to residents’ health.”
Councillor Sally Longford welcomed the plans but was concerned about the positioning of some of the functions of the car park.
She said: “We definitely need something that’s more functional and more attractive than the current building.
“However I can’t see why you would push pedestrians to the south side of the building, where the car park entrance and bus station would be, where there could be a retail unit.
“It’s not a viable place to put it.”
The full development brief of the Broadmarsh car park and bus station is available on the council’s website.
A full planning application with more details is expected before Christmas.
