The long-awaited creation of a welcoming entrance to Nottingham city centre from the south will begin in early August 2020.
The exciting new green, pedestrian-friendly public space for the city centre – involving the most significant changes to a city centre road layout for 15 years – is being funded through D2N2’s Local Growth Fund and the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund.
The Broadmarsh scheme has attracted over £20m of Government funding and the traffic changes will come into effect on the weekend of 8-9 August. Once complete, these major works will see:
- Collin Street closed to all traffic
- Canal Street, between Middle Hill and Greyfriar Gate, becoming a two-way restricted area for buses and wheelchair accessible taxis
- The Greyfriar Gate junction modified to accommodate both north and southbound traffic, linking Maid Marian Way with Wilford Street, Canal Street, and Castle Boulevard
- Middle Hill becoming two-way from Canal Street to enable access into the Lace Market.
The changes will support plans to improve the city’s walking and cycling connectivity post-COVID pandemic, providing more routes through the city centre and better connecting the city centre to the wider Nottingham area.
Preparatory works are currently underway on Greyfriar Gate to facilitate Collin Street’s closure in August and details of the works will be fully communicated as they progress.
Broadmarsh Area Redevelopment
The redevelopment of the whole Broadmarsh area will drastically improve the city centre once completed, with a new Broadmarsh Car Park and Bus Station, Central Library, Nottingham Castle visitor experience and Nottingham College City Hub and reimagined public realm, along with a new intu Broadmarsh development, currently paused due to the impact of Covid-19.
D2N2 has allocated £25m of funding towards the Broadmarsh Car Park and Bus Station whilst also investing £29m into the City Hub and £7m into Nottingham Castle’s refurbishment.
The new Broadmarsh Car Park and Bus Station, due to open in 2021, is already changing the city centre for the better, with cladding work underway as a marked improvement to the previous Car Park and Bus Station building, with a new Central Library and retail outlets also due to open on Carrington Street in 2021.
These schemes will create an open, vibrant, welcoming space to the city for anyone arriving by bus, tram, train, car, bike, or on foot.
The new spaces and traffic reduction will deliver vastly improved pedestrian environments and will include dedicated cycle facilities on Canal Street.
The work will also provide a great new public space between the new college, shopping centre, Nottingham Central Library and Nottingham Castle, with spaces for outdoor seating, food and drink in Carrington Street and areas for children to play creating a better atmosphere to sit and dwell during the day.
This will mean the areas connecting these major new developments can be turned into a bright, tree-lined space with high quality paving with landscaping, public art, and outdoor cafés, transforming them into safe and attractive spaces for people to enjoy.
Views to the Castle will be preserved, with new places for people to sit and relax, space for art boxes and words in the paving, celebrating both the new Central Library and Nottingham’s status as a UNESCO City of Literature, included as part of the design.
The Sussex Street area, between Middle Hill and the new Nottingham College City Hub, has been inaccessible for some time and will be transformed into a brighter, amphitheatre-style space, with steps from Middle Hill to Sussex Street and an environment where people can relax and play, with new spaces for activity and exercise for young people, including skateboarding.
These public spaces will be capable of hosting major events in the day and night, helping to further boost the city’s reputation for hosting top-class entertainment and activities.
