Nottingham Civic Society - Nottingham's Eastside Plan

Following the publication of the masterplan for Waterside some months ago, a similar plan for Eastside has now been launched. Eastside, in the immediate future, has far more potential for rapid change than Waterside, which is more of a strategic plan for bringing about a fundamental change to our underused and largely forgotten waterfront from Trent Bridge to Colwick Park.

Eastside comprises an area of Nottingham stretching from the junction of Mansfield Road and Huntingdon Street as far down as the Holmes Place Leisure Centre on London Road, having an area of some 139 acres.

The Mission Statement is to create an area of the city which will combine the proximity of the city centre with the residential areas of St Ann's by the establishment of clusters of mixed use, each having a primary designation such as a student village, limited retail expansion, a Bio city high tec medical area and an office area. This should create the feeling that the city centre has been extended in an east-west direction. This would balance the present feeling that Nottingham is, in fact, a north to south city.

To do this one must overcome certain problems that the Eastside has in the major traffic flow along Mansfield Road and Parliament Street to Trent Bridge which tends to cut this area in half. Also there is the problem of bringing pedestrians from the east of the city through Hockley and crossing this major highway. There is little one can do to alter the traffic flows and therefore some form of plaza or wide bridge must be created to lift the pedestrians above the traffic in order to counteract the feeling of isolation currently felt by the Eastside. If one can pick up the pedestrian flows down Hockley and through the Ice Arena to the other side of Lower Parliament Street in a wide pedestrian plaza this will effectively deal with the problems of traffic creating an artificial barrier to the Lace Market and the city centre.

There are a number of limiting factors in the existing buildings within this area, namely Sneinton Market and the Victoria Leisure Centre, which create a local loyalty to the "no change" syndrome. Both need bringing into the 21st century but this does not necessarily imply demolition. However some change in emphasis on use is needed with perhaps a new leisure centre in the area and the creation of a covered market in the Victoria Baths building.

The most exciting prospect with regard to Eastside is the fact that there are large areas that are ripe for redevelopment and regeneration and, more to the point, are likely to become available within the next few years. The area will also feature in the plan for tall buildings in the city being prepared by the Director of Development.

It is no secret that Nottingham City Transport are looking at the future of the bus station site for redevelopment purposes. Similarly with Barton Trent bus depot this needs to relocate close by its existing premises. These sites would be a natural location for a mixed-use office retail and possibly residential development scheme, being so close to the edge of the Lace Market and with an appropriate access point as described above. This would enable some extension to be made to the canal basin to provide a water feature within the centre of this redevelopment scheme supported by British Waterways who wish for a city centre canal barge marina.

There are also other buildings and sites available now that one can see rapid redevelopment taking place over the next few years. Already the ex BASF (Boots building) now owned by the Trent University is the focal point of Bio city which could create unto 5,000 high tec jobs in the city and so lift the ability of St Ann's residents to find well paid employment within the immediate area.

This is probably one of the most exciting prospects for employment in Nottingham which has been seen for many years and it will create long term employment for those who are displaced by our traditional declining industries.

The student population of Nottingham is expected to rise from 35,700 in 01/02 to 40,000 in 04/05 and the style of accommodation also requires upgrading as students are now looking for much higher quality accommodation than is normally created by converting dwelling houses, and therefore, this area is ripe for the creation of a student village to supplement those properties already converted from industrial and office accommodation.

Demand for office accommodation may well be provided to the west of the city but there is a requirement for a specialised city office centre and the Eastside will provide the best location for this style of development.

Retail floor space in the city will largely be satisfied by the extension to Broadmarsh. However, there is a need for a more specialised shopping centre in this area and also a requirement for a food retail outlet somewhere close to the east side of the city. Already a number of supermarket operators are interested in this location. In view of Government policy over the siting of large food retail outlets, it is likely that it will be of a medium size and will be highly sought by retail operators but there are planning obligations to overcome as evidenced by the recent application on Sytners' site.

As far as employment is concerned, the Island Business Quarter has not been as successful as we had hoped. This area requires some regeneration skills and will provide relocation opportunities, which a change of emphasis will bring to a successful conclusion.

As far as the Civic Society is concerned, there are few listed buildings within the Eastside development apart from the Low Level Station and the Great Northern Warehouse. The Low Level Station has been satisfactorily brought into use as a leisure centre. The Great Northern Warehouse has been the subject of a planning application for demolition and was subsequently refused at appeal. One cannot but feel, however, that what remains of this structure is in such a poor state that it cannot satisfactorily be regenerated.

The masterplan was commissioned by Nottingham Regeneration Ltd. The consultant team was led by Latham Architects of Derby backed by a highly skilled team of consultants. The plan has been put out to consultation and the final draft has been submitted to the City Council. If approved, it will then be incorporated in the Local Plan for planning guidance. The regeneration of the area will take years to complete as conditions change, as will requirements for redevelopment therefore it must not become too rigid a document. It is supposed to represent a reasonable plan for this area of the city and I believe it is one of most exciting developments that has taken place for many years.

Peter Featherby
April 2003