Any disruption caused by a massive redevelopment of the Broadmarsh car park and a new college in Nottingham city centre will be worth it in the long run, the leader of the city council has said.
Jon Collins spoke as the authority granted planning permission for both the new car park and bus station plan, plus a ‘city hub’ which will include a new Nottingham College Building.
“Completing this work will have its challenges,” he said in a statement.
“I’m sure most people understand that we need to invest in the area to change the southern entrance into the city, and as a result we will create jobs and opportunities for local people.”
The developments, which form part of a £250 million restructure of the southern part of the city centre, are expected to cause delays for motorists and go on until at least 2020. They also include the pedestrianisation of Collin Street, a major road thoroughfare which tails off Maid Marian Way, which will be replaced through re-design of the surrounding routes.
The council has already started changes to the surrounding road network, but has previously warned people to expect delays while the work is done.
The new car park and bus station will include a 1,378 space car park, new shops on Carrington Street and Collin Street, and a new bus station including charging points for electric cars on each floor. Clad in terracotta tile and glass, the new building is a radical change from its notorious concrete predecessor.
Three digital advertising screens on the new car park development were also given planning permission, which will feature on the corners of Collin Street and Middle Hill; Collin Street and Carrington Street; and at Canal Street and Carrington Street. Construction is due to start in summer 2018 and be completed in early 2020.
Work on this £58m is due to start in the summer of 2018 and the firs students will arrive in 2020. The six storey building will have room for around 2,000 students including business, admin and computing, travel and tourism, science provision, some creative provision, catering and hospitality, care and early years courses.
It will also include a new café, new training restaurant, performance theatre and business hub so businesses run alongside the College.
Nottingham College chief executive John van de Laarschot said: “Today is a special day in Nottingham College’s history as we celebrate the start of an iconic project that will help transform the City.
“It is our aim to bring to Nottingham something truly special, something more than a traditional college campus and which is a unique space in which business and education co-exist to the benefit of both. With the College’s plans for its other centres of excellence across the City Nottingham College will be one of the biggest and best-resourced education and training institutions in the country.
“We’re confident that these plans will benefit not just our students, who deserve a first class learning environment, but also local businesses and the wider community.”
