New brands and ideas needed to revive city
IKEA AND ‘VERTICAL FARM’ AMONG EXPERTS’ BROAD MARSH VISIONS
A RETAIL expert has revealed what he thinks may come next on the site of the former Broadmarsh shopping centre – including an “Ikea ministore”.
In June last year shopping centre giant Intu collapsed into administration.
It sent shockwaves across much of the country, with 3,000 direct Intu staff and a further 102,000 employees – in the shopping centre stores themselves – fearing for their futures.
But perhaps no city was hit on the same scale as Nottingham.
Both the Victoria Centre and Broadmarsh were operated by Intu, and the latter was in the midst of a long-planned complete regeneration.
All that work had to cease. Nottingham City Council ended up losing millions over Intu’s failed vision and is now seeking to transform the site with the help of acclaimed urban designer Thomas Heatherwick.
A fresh vision for the newly-coined “Greater Broad Marsh” site, one fit for a post-covid world, will be unveiled before the year is out.
Until then, there will be specualtion over what the Wembley Stadium-sized plot may become – including what it may offer to shoppers.
Independent retail analyst Nelson Blackley said whatever comes next needed to complement what’s already in the city.
And he would like to see new brands open – Mr Blackley suggesting an “Ikea mini-store” at the site.
He added: “Most city centre developments across the UK over the past decade appear to have involved some combination of luxury apartments, student accommodation, high-quality office accommodation and leisure and retail space.
“Whatever retail offer emerges across the redeveloped Greater Broadmarsh site, it needs to complement, and enhance, what already exists in the city – rather than duplicate it.
“The disastrous experience of Nottingham having two shopping centres for much of the past 50 years, each offering a similar selection of mid-market brands, should hopefully ensure this lesson has been learnt.
“I would suggest this means an absence of those major national and mainstream retail brands already well represented in Nottingham but perhaps looking to include some of the retail brands that, to date, have not opened in the city.
“For example, Supreme, Apple, Peloton or perhaps even an Ikea mini-store.”
Nottinghamshire does have a giant, and popular, Ikea at the Giltbrook
Retail Park.
But the Swedish furnishings giant has started replacing the dying breed of high street clothing shops elsewhere.
In London, for example, Ikea is taking over Topshop’s former flagship outlet in Oxford Street, marking a shift in retail offer in the capital amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Blackley added that whatever does emerge must address the “global environment and the climate emergency and so reflect the ambitious plans of Nottingham to be the first carbon neutral city in the UK by 2028”.
This includes the need for green space, a highly requested feature during the “Big Conversation” – a consultation inviting public discussion on the redevelopment – as well as a “flexible and sensible” mix of buildings.
Another intriguing suggestion comes from John Rhodes, vice-president of Nottingham Civic Society.
“It occurs to me that Wilko and a number of small shops were situated mainly under Collin Street,” he said.
“I believe there are about 400 to 500 [square] metres underground. This underused area could be brought into viable use for highintensity vertical farming.
“The fresh produce could be used to supply local restaurants and grocery stores.
“If this idea is to gain traction, it is important to consider servicing access at an early stage.
“An added potential benefit is the prospect of incorporating some of the underused underground caves alongside the vertical farming exercise which could deliver an intriguing tourist attraction, unique to Nottingham.
“It is good to hear that the Government has allocated £1.8 billion to promote housing on brownfield sites.
“I envisage that incorporating high-density vertical farming under a recently introduced traffic-free area in Collin Street could only massively enhance the bid for funding the Broad Marsh development ambitions.”
Conservationists have also said the transformation of the old shopping centre should reflect the medieval “origins of the city”. The unveiling of the Greater Broad Marsh vision is expected in December.