Nottingham #1

big heart: Expanding the city centre for growth appliance of science: What being a Science City means for Nottingham’s future economy

Nottingham

regeneration and investment magazine

Editor: Sarah Herbert sarah@3foxinternational.com

Deputy editor: Kirsty MacAulay kirsty@3foxinternational.com Art editor: Terry Hawes terry@3foxinternational.com

Advertisement sales: Paul Gussar paul@3foxinternational.com Production: Rachael Schofield rachael@3foxinternational.com Office manager: Sue Mapara sue@3foxinternational.com Managing director: Toby Fox toby@3foxinternational.com Images: The University of Nottingham - Ningbo, China, Nottingham City Council, The Big Wheel, Jason Alden - Newscast, Alliance Boots, Rolls-Royce, Lace Market Properties, Chris Etches, BioCity, SPLITT EastsideCity, Bildurn Properties, Gustafson Porter - Dominik Bueckers GP, Blueprint - www.nottinghamsciencepark.co.uk, NRL, Miller Birch - Iain Denby, Vision Nottingham, Hopkins Architects.

Cover shot: Broadmarsh Printed by: Wyndham Grange Published by: Lower Ground Floor 189 Lavender Hill London SW11 5TB T: 020 7978 6840 F: 020 7978 6837 Subscriptions and feedback: go to www.nottinghammagazine.com © 3Fox International Limited 2008. All material is ­strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written ­permission of 3Fox International Limited is strictly ­forbidden. The greatest care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine at time of going to press, but we accept no ­responsibility for omissions or errors. The views expressed in this ­magazine are not ­necessarily those of 3Fox International Limited or Nottingham Regeneration Limited or Nottingham City Council.

nottingham May 2008

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Profile Central to England, and key to the UK’s prosperity, Nottingham is ideally placed to build on its industries, expertise and vibrant population in the next stage of its growth.

Above: The Pod adds to the historic fabric of the Lace Market district.

Far left: Nottingham’s transport system is second to none.

Left: Trent Basin is one of the city’s key waterside developments.

Below: Old Market Square, recently revived with water terraces.

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Science City The city’s status as one of the country’s six science cities, and its history of innovation and manufacturing, is a key platform for its future.

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Living Nottingham has been at the forefront of the city-centre living revolution of the past decade. And it’s not finished yet.

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Transport A hugely successful tram network is just one of the city’s public transport triumphs.

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Projects We round up the big projects under way, or on the drawing board, from the Lace Market to Trent Basin.

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China Nottingham University’s campus in Ningbo, China – the UK’s first such collaboration – is helping forge strong links between the two countries.

“With our large city-centre population, we have a head start on sustainability.

Now vital we need to take advantage of the trend” statics Barry Horne

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Nottingham City Council corporate director for environment and regeneration

n Rents are £20 per square foot for new prime space, expected to rise to £28 for future grade A space n More than £300 million of stock transacted in the past 18 months

n The borough has the country’s lowest death rate from accidents n The borough has 23 buildings over 10 storeys high and another 50 more than six storeys

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contents

We’re building on Nottingham’s success...

...with the right foundations for the future For more details of the city's exciting regeneration plans and opportunities, contact Marc Cole or Dawn Alvey at:

Nottingham Regeneration Limited www.nottinghamregeneration.ltd.uk Shire Hall, High Pavement, Nottingham NG1 1HN

T: 0115 915 5166 E: info@nrl.uk.net

famously the birthplace of both boots the Chemist and Paul Smith the fashion designer, and home to such necessities in the credit age as Capital One and Experian, Nottingham is a thriving and important place, one of England’s eight ’core cities’, and capital of the East Midlands. It’s one of the best places to go shopping in the UK, and has been in the vanguard of the UK-wide move towards city-centre living.

The city’s long history had an inauspicious start in Saxon times, when it was named Snotengaham. The Norman residents mercifully dropped the initial S, and the city went on to spend centuries at the heart of the UK manufacturing industry, in medieval times the country’s centre for lace, textiles and, later, Raleigh, Boots and Player’s Tobacco. Now the city is making a name for itself as a centre for business, with service industries, apartments, shops, bars and restaurants colonising the former palaces of industry.

Historical landmarks still anchor the town, from the ducal mansion on the site of Nottingham’s medieval castle to the old market square, a constant fulcrum at the centre of Nottingham life that has survived various reconstructions of the city. Perhaps symbolic of the city’s ability to adapt to change is the Lace Market area.

Once the industrial centre of the eponymous industry, its decline started after the First World War, and by the 1960s the area of magnificent warehouses was facing demolition. By the 1990s, a combination of listing, conservation activism and private investment had turned the area into a vibrant city quarter, in high demand as a place to live and play. Its success kick-started the trend for city centre living, in the city and, arguably, the rest of

the UK. It has been instrumental in seeing the population of the city centre double in the past five years. Even now, 40% of all house-building still takes place in the centre.

Regeneration since 1998 in the rest of the centre has also seen the renovation of other historic districts, such as the canal quarter, as well as modern architectural gems like the Jubilee campus at the University of Nottingham, Capital One’s HQ, and the Inland Revenue.

The city 2000 initiative, launched in 1990, also saw the introduction of the hugely successful NET tram system (the first phase of which was inaugurated in 2004), a £7 million transformation of the Old Market Square by Gustafson Porter, the £13 million new arts centre in the Lace Market called the Nottingham Contemporary, and pedestrianisation of historic areas, which helped to boost the retail appeal of the city.

The economy has had a similar revival. The manufacturing slump that hit all major cities did not spare Nottingham. In the mid-1970s, Raleigh employed 7,600 staff, but by 2002 had completely closed its Nottingham base. Player’s Tobacco vacated over 90,000sq m of space in the 1980s, and the mining industry went into terminal decline after the 1984 miners’ strike. One silver lining from the cloud of the Thatcher era, however, was increased investment in run-down cities, with government grants levering in investment for the regeneration of the Lace

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At the centre of England, and central to the East Midlands economy, Nottingham is once more building on its history of innovation and reinvention to expand and adapt for the 21st century.

Top: Plans for Lace Market Square, at the heart of Nottingham’s city centre revival.

Above: The River Trent.

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Market. Now, the city boasts wealth creation at almost £25,000 per head, higher than either Leeds or Bristol.

Public sector and service industries occupy refurbished industrial buildings, and science and technology firms are bringing a new economic base to the town. Aided by the bio-medical sector’s increasing importance, supported by the city’s two universities – the University of Nottingham, and Nottingham Trent University, with a total of 60,000 students – and recent designation as one of the UK’s six science cities.

Science City status is awarded to cities with past strengths and current promise in the scientific arena.

Nottingham has both in spades. As well as being home to Boots, the city also saw the invention of the MRI scanner, and Ibuprofen. It has more than 7,000 science students, at least 2,500 of them studying medicine or related subjects, 3,000 research projects under way, £90 million in research grants, 1,000 researchers, and 250 patent applications.

Local employers, providing 20,000 jobs, include innovative SMEs such as Pharmaceutical Profiles, Orion Pharma, Molecular Profiles and ClinPhone, as well as corporate giants such as Reckitt Benckiser and Rolls-Royce.

There are three Centres of Vocational Excellence,

“We must build on its USPs – workforce, successful companies, two universities, quality of life and the country’s fifth most important retail centre” Marc Cole chief executive, Nottingham Regeneration Limited

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two major science parks and further developments planned, such as the second and third phases of BioCity, the UK’s most successful incubator facility, where more than 50 companies are now in occupation. Key to the new economy of the city is the construction, last year, of £50 million of new high tech space and serviced sites for innovating companies, ranging from BioCity to the 5ha second phase of the Nottingham Science and Technology Park and the £29 million extension of the University of Nottingham’s Jubilee Campus.

For Marc Cole, chief executive of Nottingham Regeneration Ltd, Nottingham’s scientific status is just one of the factors in its future. “My vision for Nottingham is that it needs to build on its illustrious past of lace, Raleigh and Boots, and develop its role both as a Core City and as a Science City, with all its opportunities in science and technology. It should build on its USPs – workforce, track record of successful companies, two universities, quality of life and position as the country’s fifth most important retail centre. We also have the only UK university with a campus in China [see page 38], giving us an edge in today’s increasingly globalised markets and making us a real player on the international stage.”

Another of Nottingham’s strengths is its connectivity.

Trains to London take under two hours, and there are direct and frequent links to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Leeds. The opening of the St Pancras High Speed 1 link means that Europe is now easily accessible by train, as well as by plane, with East Midlands Airport is only 12 miles from the city centre.

Connectivity within the city is equally important.

The big success story of recent years has been the Nottingham Express Transit (NET) high-speed tram system which runs through the city centre, joining the train station to the north of the city. Two more lines are planned, due for completion 2013, which will link outlying boroughs with the city centre.

Another success is the Big Wheel integrated transport initiative, which has reduced car use and congestion by making public transport as easy and flexible as possible.

Work on a new transport hub, in a BDP-led masterplan of the station site, will link trains, trams, buses and coach facilities, in a scheme featuring offices, shops and homes.

Barry Horne, corporate director for environment and regeneration at Nottingham City Council, says: “The trams have been a huge success. Trams and regeneration seem

Top: The £7 million rejuvenation of Old Market Square, long a central part of Nottingham life.

Above: The recently completed Lace Market Square.

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Creating sustainable communities Many of the regeneration projects which populate our towns, cities and rural communities owe an element of their successful delivery to English Partnerships.

Known as the Government’s national regeneration agency, it is English Partnerships’ main objective to support high quality, sustainable growth across the country – and Nottingham is no exception.

Across the city English Partnerships is working closely with Nottingham Regeneration Ltd as well as other private and public sector partners to bring a number of projects to fruition. The common goal, and as part of the Government’s Growth Agenda, is to see deprived and derelict areas of the city centre revived for the good of the communities which will live and work in them.

English Partnerships places good quality design at the heart of its urban regeneration projects as it believes this is central to creating places that are sustainable in terms of social, environmental and economic factors. And on that note, the Agency is leading the way to achieving carbon zero homes by 2016. Already, at developments up and down the country English Partnerships is implenting Code levels 3, 5 and 6, on all of its projects, three years ahead of Government targets.

To find out more about the work of English Partnerships across Nottingham and the East Midlands region visit www.englishpartnerships.co.uk

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Below left: The tram has boosted the city centre’s regeneration.

Below right: The recently completed Trinity Square retail centre.

to go hand in hand. Maybe it’s because investing in trams demonstrates commitment to infrastructure and the future.”

And public transport is at the heart of regeneration plans. “The increasing nationwide focus on sustainable development means that high-quality public transport will become increasingly important, and Nottingham will be ahead of the pack,” says Horne. “Sustainable development doesn’t just mean that individual buildings should be green. They need to be connected by a highquality public transport network. A BREEAM excellence rating can’t be achieved just through the design of the building alone.”

In 2006, Nottingham was confirmed as a government Growth Point – that is, it has been earmarked for housing developments to accommodate the growth in UK population, alongside an estimated 40,000 jobs.

This growth has to take place in a sustainable way. “The government is committed to providing more housing where people want to live,” says Horne, “and Nottingham is one of those places. We need to supply that housing in a way that won’t spoil the very city they wanted to live in, and ensure that the supply means they’re affordable.

“In the 1980s and 90s the tendency was to move out of city centres, with out-of-town business parks and retail,” Horne continues. “The sustainability agenda now means that the process is being reversed. With Nottingham’s large city-centre population, we already have a head start. Now we need to build on it, and take advantage of the trend.”

The tram network going out of the city centre will also help outlying town centres of the conurbation which also come under NRL’s remit, and with whose local authorities it works to ensure sustainable development. For example, NRL was involved in the creation of masterplans for Bullwell and Beeston town centres, as well as a Science

City property strategy covering the whole of greater Nottingham.

But the main focus for Nottingham’s regeneration is to build on the success of the city centre, and meet increasing demand from investors in retail, commercial, leisure and residential property. In the city centre, this is happening through individual projects, such as the £700 million redevelopment of the Broadmarsh shopping centre (see page 31), the construction of the 22,500sq m Trinity Square shopping centre, extending the bars and creative industries of the Lace Market eastwards, and adding to the mix through the construction of schemes such as the Lace Market Square, the Pod hotel and leisure building (see page 33) and the Litmus apartment building (see page 25). To add to the Old Market Square transformation, eight new squares are planned, the first of which is in the Lace Market. Traffic is being tamed, and public transport prioritised.

But the real focus is on three sites to the south and east of the centre amounting to the size of 300 football pitches, one of the largest regeneration areas in the UK, providing £3.5 billion of development opportunities, and dramatically increasing the stock and quality of commercial, residential and retail property. The three regeneration zones – Eastside, Southside and Waterside – will bring back into use large swathes of underused properties and brownfield land next to the city centre, and will reconnect inner-city neighbourhoods including the Meadows and St Ann’s.

The Eastside regeneration zone will form a major new extension to the city’s central business district and will build on successful high technology development such as BioCity, and the offices of emda and the BBC. Redundant buildings in the northern part of the Eastside area are being turned into office space or student accommodation, and associated bars, restaurants and

The main focus for Nottingham’s regeneration is to increase the physical area of the city centre, and meet demand from investors in both commercial and residential property. ➔

Above : Eastside’s regeneration will provide commercial and leisure accommodation.

Above right: The River Crescent scheme by Trent Park Developments.

specialised shopping. Central to the regeneration plans for this part of the city is the Island Site (see p28-29), where a 13.7ha, £900 million office scheme (the largest city development in the UK) is moving forward.

The Southside regeneration area centres on Nottingham station, which will be transformed into a new multi-million pound transportation hub incorporating the second phase of the city’s tram system. The area is already home to big commercial names, such as Capital One and the Inland Revenue; Canal Street and Waterfront Plaza mixed-use schemes are complete; and the plans for two more projects are now well advanced: the 45,000sq m £100 million mixed-use Meadows Gateway, by Lace Market Properties, and Wilson Bowden’s Wilford Road scheme involving the construction of 10,000sq m of new grade A office space. The emphasis now is on improving connectivity through the area, to and from the city centre, to enable local residents to share Nottingham’s new prosperity. This will accelerate as the city centre is pulled southwards towards the redeveloped Broadmarsh centre, which will be trebled in size.

Finally, the 100ha Waterside regeneration area will at long last reconnect the city to the River Trent, potentially one of its greatest assets, by replacing a collection of industrial buildings with a new, permeable, waterfront.

The aim is to change the demarcation between city and countryside, helped by a 13km park along the river linking the communities, with a series of exemplar projects in environmental integration. Central to the masterplan is the Trent Basin scheme by ISIS and English Partnerships (see page 36), a new waterfront district of housing, restaurants and bars, convenience retail and small

‘start up’ office units (see page 34), which will join Trent Park Developments’ River Crescent apartment scheme, currently nearing completion.

Sights are set high for the quality of developments in all three areas. “We want catalytic regeneration projects that will have a wider effect than just the particular scheme, to address market failure and change perceptions,” says Cole. “For example, we want Nottingham station to create a positive first impression for people arriving in the city, and for the Greater Island Site to create an expanded central business district for existing and new companies.”

As one of the Core Cities in the national agenda for rebuilding civic pride, breaking down deprivation and creating regional success and optimism, Nottingham looks like it’s going to be a shining example. ❑

£3.5 billion Value of current regeneration projects

286,000 Population of Nottingham city

20% of population

are in their 20s

1.3 billion 85% annual retail spend employment is in service sector 90,000 students 3.8% unemployment 254,000 People employed in service industries in £420 Greater Nottingham average gross weekly pay 13% growth in service sector since 2000

647,000 Population of Greater Nottingham, forecast to rise to 820,000 by 2021

£17,800 GVA per capita, 12% higher than the regional average

Employment Although 85% of employment is in the service sector (164,000 in 2006), manufacturing is still a factor, employing 13,600 as process plant and machine operatives. The public sector employs a third of the workforce (compared with 27% nationally). Growth since 2000 has come almost entirely in the service sector (a net increase of 13%) and the city also has a growing number of self-employed (29,000 in 2006).

Markets Residential market Land Registry data shows house prices rising sharply during 20012004, but the volume of sales dipping from 2006 onwards.

The average sale price in January 2008 was £100,237, with detached homes selling at £176,828, semidetached at £99,044, terraced at £70,740 and flats and maisonettes £144,213. The comparatively high price of flats reflects the popularity of the city centre, and the residents’ considerably higher than average incomes. Across the rest of the city, there is still a large component of council housing (16.4% of stock) and 10% of privately rented dwellings.

New building in the centre continues strongly (over 800 completions in 2006) but there are signs of an over-supply of one-bed properties. New housing in the pipeline is supplying more family homes, for example Trent Basin, which includes townhouses and large family apartments. At least 3,500 new units of all types will be completed in the city by the end of 2009.

Office market Central Nottingham received £130 million of commercial investment in 2006 alone, and over the next five to eight years, 200,000sq m of space will be added.

CB Richard Ellis, reporting in March

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Facts and figures

2008 on the Greater Nottingham Property Market, forecast good takeup for the new space, despite the current downturn.

Chris White of CBRE says Nottingham offers cost advantages that “compare favourably with other regional capitals, making the city an attractive relocation option”.

Demand was strong in 2007, although there remains a shortage of grade A accommodation. Average annual take-up of all categories has been around 14,000sq m (150,000sq ft) for the past five years, with an active requirement for 22,500sq m (250,000sq ft) in 2007. Prime rents are £16-18 per sq ft, with £20 achieved in 2007 at the ng2 development.

Prime yields have recently softened to around 5%, in line with national trends.

Retail and leisure market Experian ranks Nottingham consistently in the top 10 centres, just below Manchester and above Leeds.

Floorspace has increased by 40% in the past five years and the city boasts more than 1,100 retail units. Prime retail rents went up from £200 per sq ft in 2000 to £245 in 2007.

Prime yields were around 4% at the end of 2007. The city’s retail offer will further improve with the major developments either just opened or now on-stream, such as Broadmarsh (see page 31).

Nottingham 13

science lessons Nottingham’s Science City status is fundamental to the city’s regeneration. Julie Mackintosh reports on how the title will bring kudos and recognition.

Ibuprofen, HP sauce, the MRI scanner, shin guards: these seminal inventions have one thing in common – they were all conceived in Nottingham.

The city that gave us Boots Chemists has a long and impressive track record when it comes to innovation.

As the Nottingham Science City website says: “Many of our scientific discoveries have made life better for millions around the world.” Now science is set to improve the life chances of people in Nottingham itself.

Gordon Brown designated Nottingham a “Science City” (along with only five others: York, Manchester,

Bristol, Newcastle and Birmingham) in recognition of the cities’ collective strengths in science and research and development. The initiative reflects the prominence now placed by the government on science and technology as an economic driver. In Nottingham’s case, says Nottingham Development Enterprise chief executive Neil Horsley, Science City status acknowledges past glories as well as present strengths: in particular, Nottingham’s two universities which regularly achieve over £100 million a year to fund research.

But while the title is welcome, some people are ➔

Above: Engineers at Rolls-Royce.

Nottingham’s history and relationship with employers will stand it in good stead for a future based on scientific research and development.

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sceptical and “assume Science City must come with a budget,” says Horsley. “It doesn’t.” What it does bring, however, is kudos, impetus, and focus. Marc Cole, chief executive of Nottingham Regeneration Limited, says: “It is fundamental to our regeneration – bringing national recognition of our achievements and ambitions. As such, it provides a USP for the city and gives us a real competitive advantage over other areas in attracting investment.”

The newfound status also raises the fundamental question: what is science and how can it be translated into wealth and employment? After all, Nottingham has set itself the ambitious goal of creating 20,000 new science and technology jobs by 2020. The city, by its own admission, has adopted a broad definition of the term, identifying priority sectors as health and life sciences, micro and nanotechnology, digital and creative industries, environment, advanced engineering and product design.

“These employment areas offer well-paid, high-value jobs,” explains Simon Green, director of sustainable development at Nottingham City Council. “They are also very effective in attracting and creating other businesses – a kind of virtuous circle. Sustainable success cannot be achieved by high level skills and research alone, it has to come from generating wider acceptance and understanding of science as a career choice so we can nurture the skilled technicians and technical support staff that are so crucial. Nottingham is working hard to raise the profile of the city and it’s paying off. The city hosted a pan-european Nanotechnology fair in June 2007 and attracted over 5,000 members of the public in just two days. A successful Science City must demonstrate success in all aspects including skills, property, research and development, finance and economic structure.

Less than three years into its new designation, the city is meeting the challenge head on, with around £70 million of accommodation committed or under construction. “There are six or seven major schemes, each with its own focus,” says Horsley. “For example, the Blueprint Nottingham Science Park will focus on the environment, while the University Innovation Park is research-orientated, and will forge links between business and academia.”

He highlights BioCity – with more than 50 companies the UK’s largest bio-incubator – as a ‘real engine for growth’ and one of the greatest achievements to date. Dr Glenn Crocker, chief executive of BioCity, attributes some of this success to a pro-active approach. “We’ve gathered together a large number of companies that work in a similar field,” he says. “A critical mass alongside world class facilities is a successful combination.”

Established business is also playing its part, with Boots and Rolls-Royce both having HQs in Nottingham. With around 40ha available for development, the former is redesigning its campus to attract research institutes. And, Rolls-Royce has been identified as a potential location for an innovation park focused on aerospace excellence.

The latest scheme mooted is Medi Park, a cluster

around Queen’s Medical Centre – a five-star teaching hospital and one of the UK’s largest hospital complexes.

Ensuring Nottingham has the skills to satisfy demand is another matter that regenerators have been addressing.

While there have been reports of skills shortages at all levels, Crocker says a recent survey of companies at BioCity found that while 75% had no problem recruiting talent generally, some faced difficulty in specific areas.

With 7,000 science students (2,500 studying medicine or related subjects), collaboration in the major science park schemes, strong links with business, £10 million invested in three centres of excellence and 2,000 active research projects, Nottingham’s two universities are a massive driving force behind the Science City concept.

A collaboration between the universities, business and public agencies, and the Education and Training Group has been identifying the skills needed to fulfil the potential of Science City. Initiatives so far include establishing a new lab technician course at a local FE college and a £450,000 work experience programme to give the unemployed access to jobs in the science sector.

Dr Karen Moss of Nottingham Trent University is chair of the group. She says it is crucial to get people, particularly the young, interested in careers in science.

“We’re facing a demographic time bomb. Not only are there fewer young people, but fewer are choosing careers in science.” To this end, Science City is working closely with schools, staging events such as the Science Festival, which last year attracted 4,000 children from across the county. Perhaps one of them will be responsible for Nottingham’s next life-changing invention... ❑

“Science City status brings kudos, impetus and focus. It provides a USP for the city and gives us a real competitive advantage over other areas in attracting investment” Barry Horne corporate director for environment and regneration at Nottingham City Council

“The science and technology sector has huge economic potential, particularly in areas like Nottingham.

We’re not even punching half our weight yet”

BioCity With 51 companies and counting, BioCity is the UK’s largest bio-incubator. Opened in 2003, across four buildings gifted by BASF, it offers 12,000sq m of laboratory and office space as well as a full range of business services and support to start-ups and growing enterprises.

BioCity is a joint venture between Nottingham Trent University, the University of Nottingham and East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA).

Boots Established in Nottingham in 1849, Boots is a worldwide brand but with its HQ, along with 7,000 employees, still in the city of its origin.

Business changes across the 112ha Boots site will result in the release of 40ha of land, property and lab space for development as a mixed-use site acting, as agreed in development principles, as a focus for growth industries connected to the nearby universities and Nottingham’s Science City status.

Nottingham Science Park Sustainable developer Blueprint is on site with a £50 million, 5ha extension to the park. Central to the scheme is the striking 4,300sq m, No 1 Nottingham Science Park, by Studio EgretWest and Hawkins Brown architects. Due for completion in June 2008, the £12.5 million building is aimed at companies working in IT, food research and life sciences.

DR Glenn Crocker chief executive, BioCity

“If you’re a place that does good science, you’ve got to let people know” Dr Karen Moss

Nottingham Trent University

University of Nottingham Innovation Park The £29 million Innovation Park will open for business in September 2008, offering dedicated research and development facilities suitable for incubators through to established companies.

UNIP aims to attract high-tech, innovative companies with synergy with the university’s research, teaching and knowledge transfer activities.

Nottingham Medi Park This development proposed for land next to the QMC, one of the largest teaching hospitals in the UK, would be for uses such as clinical studies and medical technology developments.

An initial masterplan and feasibility study have been commissioned.

To read about more Science City schemes go to www.science-city.co.uk Science City is a partnership between East Midland Development Agency, Greater Nottingham Partnership, Nottingham Development Enterprise, Nottingham City Council, Nottingham Trent University, the University of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham Regeneration Ltd and the private sector. ❑

Nottingham 15

PROJECTS:

City centre living has long been popular in Nottingham. Now, developers are set to take it to another level, as David Blackman finds out.

Eastside’s Central island on the edge of the city centre will regenerate 13.7 hectares to produce 1,400 residential units.

Footpaths will link the site with the city centre and train station.

Twenty years ago, the Lace Market district of Nottingham, next to the city centre, mainly consisted of semi-derelict warehouses and mills, good for fringe cultural activities – the Garage night club in neighbouring Hockley played a key role in the birth of acid house – but not so popular for living.

This all began to change with the creation, in 1988, of the Lacemarket Development Company, a public/private partnership with the remit of stimulating investment in the historic area. Despite the late-80s recession, the LDC oversaw the restoration of the Adams Building and Shire Hall, two of the area’s most challenging buildings, and large-scale infrastructure improvements. This laid the foundations for such developers as Lace Market Properties, which in 1998, converted a disused mill at 1a Barker Gate into six New York-style lofts.

Since then, the area’s transformation has been dramatic, and Nottingham has been at the forefront of the boom in city-centre living. Thousands of people now live in Lace Market, the vast majority well-heeled young professionals working in Nottingham’s expanding business services sector. Between 2001 and 2006, the population of the city centre doubled, with 79% of those renting in the area professionals and 17% students. This influx has created demand for new goods and services in the city centre, attracting high-profile restaurants and shops to the Lace Market and Hockley areas.

At the same time, Nottingham City Council has embarked on a drive to improve the city centre environment. Old Market Square, the city centre’s focal point, has just been the subject of a £7 million redesign by internationally renowned landscape architect Gustafson Porter. And the subways, which once led the city centre’s Maid Marian Way dual carriageway to be dubbed a ‘street of shame’ by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, have been blocked up and replaced by more user-friendly pedestrian crossings.

Meanwhile, for the evening, the council is working to improve the city’s night-life: night buses have been laid on to relieve pressure on the taxi services late at night, and a business improvement district specifically tailored for the evening economy – one of the first in the country – has been set up in the city centre.

“It’s never going to be a suburban environment, people living there need to accept that, but we are trying to make the city centre more balanced,” says Barry Horne, the council’s corporate director of environment and regeneration.

While the city centre has been transformed, an even bigger shift in thinking is going to be needed to keep pace with the city’s rocketing housing demand.

Nottingham is earmarked to deliver 23,500 homes in the draft East Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS), which covers the period between 2001 and 2026. To put this figure into context, it means that Nottingham will be expected to generate 945 new homes per annum, maintaining the residential boom of the past six years, when an average of 1,050 was achieved. These figures are the net increase in homes required after allowing for demolitions, so the actual number of new properties to be built will need to be considerably higher.

Much of the new housing will be delivered on council estates, such as the Meadows, which will become mixed tenure neighbourhoods. The draft RSS also proposes a new urban extension to the south of Nottingham.

The city centre, including regeneration zones at Eastside, Southside and Waterside, will be expected to provide a third of the city’s new housing. Those planning the regeneration zones, which form an arc of largely disused ex-manufacturing land to the east and south of Nottingham city centre, want to see a more varied mix of housing sizes coming forward.

This is because although the city centre residential boom has created large numbers of units, many are ➔

Nottingham 17

getting to the heart of the matter

“A recent survey showed 73% of homes being rented out in the city centre were to people aged under 30, 65% of tenants are twoperson households and 33% living alone” Above: Island site.

Main picture: Loft-style living at Barker Gate in the Lace Market.

Right: Lace Market Square.

smaller, which some worry do not meet Nottingham’s wider housing needs. A 2007 report by Savills on the Nottingham residential market showed the size of city centre units shrank by 24% between 2002 and 2006.

This excess supply of small apartments has had a knock-on impact on both purchase prices and rental levels, according to a report on the city centre residential market carried out for Nottingham City Council by agent Knight Frank. It said: “The significant amount of similar stock – particularly mid-range two-bedroom apartments has suppressed rental price growth… Speculative

development has taken place at a level which means that supply has outpaced demand.”

NRL chief executive Marc Cole argues the oversupply issue has been exaggerated. “There aren’t a huge amount of vacant city centre flats. Oversupply is greater in Leeds, perhaps due to a greater latent demand in Nottingham.”

Mark Elliot, managing director of LMP, agrees. “The rental side is really strong for the right type of product.”

However, with the scale of development being planned in the regeneration zones, it will no longer be possible to rely on the narrow demographic occupying the existing city centre developments.

A recent survey by Savills showed 73% of homes rented in the city centre were to people aged under 30, 65% of tenants are two-person households and 33% are people live on their own. Just 2% of tenants are families.

And the Knight Frank report says: “With 2,100 units in the city-centre development pipeline and over 7,000 units proposed for the regeneration zones, issues of oversupply within the centre may be magnified unless sufficient additional demand comes forward.

“This is a city moving into the next stage of its citycentre residential market evolution. The young single and couples market, attracted by the current city centre offer, will be insufficient to take up the demand for all the accommodation planned for the regeneration zones.”

The chance to widen the housing choice available in the city centre lies in these regeneration zones. According

to Horne, the council wants to see more diversity and choice than that currently offered, and Cole adds that NRL wants developers to offer something different from their traditional city centre product.

This should work. The lower land values in the regeneration zones means that developers can provide a wider mix of housing types, while still making a return on investment. At the same time, the contraction of the buy-to-let market following the credit crunch means less demand from investors, who have bought a large share of Nottingham’s city centre developments in recent years.

A wide mix of accommodation is being offered in the new schemes coming on stream in the Waterside regeneration zone, the first of which has already been developed by Trent Park Development, with a £40 million apartment development called River Crescent. The adjacent Trent Basin development (see page 36), where 2,200 new homes are being proposed under plans recently approved by Nottingham City Council, will include a mix of housing ranging from studios to larger family homes.

One potential market for this new housing is ‘empty nesters’, according to John Rhodes, Trent Park

NOTTINGHAM LIKES TO SEE ITSELF AS A TRAILBLAZER in environmental matters. In 2000, when green issues were less high-profile than they are now, the city council drew up the Nottingham declaration, which made a commitment to actively tackle climate change at the local level. Hundreds of local authorities across the country have subsequently signed their part of the declaration.

As part of this commitment to the environment, the council is working with English Partnerships and Nottingham Regeneration Ltd to raise environmental standards across the regeneration zones, which will bring back into use hundreds of hectares of environmentally sustainable urban brownfield land. For example, Trent Park Developments’ River Crescent scheme, which is the first major development in the Waterside regeneration zone, features geothermal heat pumps connected to the river.

But the big advantage Nottingham centre has over other areas is an existing district heating system. A wasteburning incinerator on the edge of the centre provides low-emission heat and power for the Victoria shopping centre and flats and the nearby St Ann’s council estate.

Barry Horne says: “It’s got potential for quite large extensions, which would make the whole thing more economical. The first step would be to extend the trunk pipe network, but you need a significant commitment to make it worthwhile.” Lace Market Properties, with schemes in the pipeline across the regeneration zones, is looking at how it can plug its developments into the district heating system. ❑

Nottingham 19

Developments’ managing director. He detects demand from people who want to downsize from large family homes and perhaps spend more time abroad. “If you have been living in a suburban family home environment, to downsize to a small flat is one thing, but going to live in a luxury apartment is a different matter. We are offering a 2,000sq m flat five minutes from the city centre, compared to the typical 700sq m flat found in central Nottingham.”

He acknowledges that broadening the city centre market to attract a wider socio-economic profile is ‘challenging’. “We don’t have a history of city centre living in the UK, so it would be unrealistic to move from nothing to a full spectrum of ages.”

However, he believes it is possible for the city centre housing market to evolve. “The people living in the city centre have typically been students and in their early 20s.

What we need to do is to raise that age group so that people stay on until their late 20s.

“We are seeing people leave later. Instead of moving out when they have a baby, they are staying.”

City-centre living is the focus of Nottingham’s housing plans.

Investors are hoping to develop the city-centre living market away from singletons and young couples to embrace families and ‘empty nesters’.

“This is a city moving into the next stage of its citycentre residential market evolution”

Creative heart and soul As a business that works with many of Nottingham’s most creative companies and which has a close relationship with a number of its key players, city law firm Berryman knows very well that the creative industries lie at the heart of Nottingham’s regeneration strategy.

“Berryman is genuinely passionate about its home city,” says Chairman Richard Brackenbury, “and the team is committed, both professionally and personally, to its development and regeneration, and is a leading corporate supporter of fine art in the city.”

Currently, Richard is advising Confetti Constellations Limited on the development of a state of the art high specification facility in the former Nottingham Fashion Centre building, which will house the city’s newest digital media and technology businesses.

Richard Brackenbury

Berryman’s commercial legal expertise spans specialist corporate finance, intellectual property, and commercial property, and the firm is widely recognised for both this commercial, as well as its private client, legal advice, which are mutually complementary for the firm and its clients.

Andrew Cooper, one of the East Midlands leading and best known commercial property lawyers, recently joined Berryman as head of its highly respected Commercial Property team.

Andrew typifies the Andrew Cooper firm’s passion and interest in Nottingham’s regeneration and indeed all facets of its arts, creative, life sciences and technology scene.

He is Chair of the Board of Broadway Media Centre — widely recognised as the key ‘hub’ in Nottingham’s creative world — was the initiator and one of the leading organisers of the Creative Business Awards launched in 2007, and acts for a number of artist studio groups within the city.

As a construction specialist, Richard Brackenbury, head of Berryman’s Construction and Property team, acts for developers, contractors, professionals and finance houses, and is a regular key figure at city and regional arts, property and construction events and steering committees, is a former Board member of Experience Nottinghamshire and a current member of the Board of Sinfonia ViVA.

He says: “The proximity of Confetti and Broadway has helped establish a creative cluster of businesses which acts as a catalyst in growing Nottingham’s national and international reputation as a creative centre. Both organisations are also involved – along with BioCity and others – in driving forward the regeneration of previously run-down areas on the eastern fringe of the city centre.”

Broadway Media Centre

Planning and environmental law is increasingly influencing almost every aspect and type of business, and the twin themes of regeneration and sustainability continue to gather pace with divisions becoming ever-more blurred, a specialist area for Berryman’s planning and environmental law specialist Tim Driver.

Such dedicated industry knowledge and legal expertise is a theme throughout Berryman, such as in its Intellectual Property team, led by Scott Farnsworth, which offers legal advice in the creative, technology media and telecoms, and life sciences industries. The firm is also a corporate Partner at BioCity and acts both for BioCity and the majority of life science businesses based there.

Richard adds: “Nottingham has an exceptional concentration of talents, entrepreneurs and businesses and there’s numerous initiatives specifically designed to push forward projects that will place these creative and cultural elements at the heart of the city’s ongoing regeneration.”

Berryman is a Midlands law firm based in Nottingham, which provides an extensive portfolio of legal services within four key areas: Business Services, Property & Construction, Insurance Services and Private Client.

It employs 135 people and has 20 partners.

Berryman Park House Friar Lane Nottingham NG1 6DN DX 10004 Nottm 1 T 0845 3107200 F 0845 3107210 W www.berryman.co.uk

In many respects, Nottingham’s economic success in recent years has fuelled one of its biggest problems. Many of the jobs created in recent years have been filled by people from outside the city, which has put pressure on the conurbation’s road system and resulted in increased congestion. Therefore, as well as encouraging residential and commercial development on brownfield or previously run-down areas near the city centre – Southside, Eastside and Waterside – top of the agenda is upgrading the transport system, to enable greater mobility.

Barry Horne, corporate director for environment and regeneration at Nottingham City Council, identifies the planned extension of the Nottingham Express Transit (NET) light rail system and the upgrade of Midland railway station as the two key transport projects. Redeveloping the Victorian Midland station as a major transport hub will be the linchpin of the regeneration of the surrounding Southside area. It handles five million passengers a year, but is cut off from the nearby city centre, with poor public transport and pedestrian connections.

The station redevelopment plan aims to capitalise on the opening of the Channel Tunnel rail link at St Pancras, which means that Nottingham is now under five hours by train from Paris. Horne says: “It’s about creating a 21st century interchange that creates a high-quality first impression for people arriving in the city by rail.”

All three lines of NET will converge on the station, with Nottingham’s tram a stop above the platforms, making the journey from main system and exemplary line to tram and vice versa as seamless as possible. A new multi-storey car park is also planned, with better set-down bus service are taking the city’s transport offer and drop-off facilities for cars and buses.

The city’s flagship transport project in recent years has to another level. David been NET, the latest in the recent wave of tram projects to Blackman investigates. open. While bigger cities, like Leeds and Liverpool, have failed to get light rail schemes off the ground, Nottingham is powering ahead with plans to add two new lines to the city’s existing single route. Funding approval has been secured from the Department for Transport and a public inquiry into NET’s application has just concluded. The council is planning to partly fund the NET extension by charging a levy on workplace parking. A previous bid to set up this innovative funding scheme was rejected by the DfT in 2005, but the latest application has received favourable comments from ministers, including local government minister John Healey at the recent Core Cities summit.

“It’s far superior to the bus network in terms of legibility and speed,” says Horne. What’s more, says Horne, the tram is vitally important for relieving pressure on the city centre’s existing roadspace, which cannot be expanded. “It gives people options, takes cars off the roads and reduces congestion.”

In addition, as one of the routes runs through the ➔ ➔

Nottingham 21

Planes, trains, automobiles…

Top: Nottingham City Council has majority ownership of its bus services.

Above: Waterways are being made more accessible with footpaths and cycle tracks.

“The city has bucked the trend of declining bus use”

Southside regeneration zone on its way to the Meadows area, “it will hardwire Southside into the city’s public transport system,” according to Horne.

Perhaps most importantly, he adds, the tram is an important vote of public confidence in Nottingham’s regeneration. “If you are asking people to invest and develop in an underprivileged area of the city, you need to effectively demonstrate that the public sector is investing in the area. Whether that is public realm or road and rail links, it’s part of a clear demonstration of public sector commitment to the regeneration of the area.”

The existing line one has been successful since it opened three years ago, partly thanks to careful planning, which ensured that the route was integrated with park and ride facilities and existing bus routes. And the fact that Nottingham City Council has majority ownership of the city’s main bus operator means that the tram has not had to face a debilitating fight for passengers with existing public transport providers.

NET claims that the network has helped to regenerate neighbourhoods along the route, including the former coal mining community of Hucknall on the outskirts of the city where it terminates. Estate agents working in the inner city area of Radford, which the line runs through, reported a ‘tram effect’ on local property values in the run up to the system’s introduction.

The new lines, to run through southern and western Nottingham, will link up residential areas like Clifton, the Meadows, Lenton and Beeston with major centres of employment such as the Queens Medical Centre Hospital, the University of Nottingham and the ng2 business park.

It will also create new links via the park and ride sites at Nottingham’s junctions on the M1.

Horne says that the ‘tram effect’ can even be witnessed in these areas where it has yet to be built. “There’s been a lot of investment in anticipation of the tram,” he says, such as the edge-of-city centre ng2 business park, which is on the planned route.

But while the tram has attracted most of the attention in recent years, the city’s bus network should not be ignored. Unlike in any other major English city, apart from London, Nottingham City Council has majority ownership of its bus services. And perhaps as a result, the city has bucked the nationwide trend of declining bus use. Across the city, the number of bus passengers has increased by 8% since 2000, according to council figures.

The council has also expanded its bus network to take into account new non-radial patterns of commuting with the city centre Loop, which runs along the Nottingham ring road. The council’s local transport plan includes proposals to run this service deeper into the Eastside regeneration zone.

In addition, the council has developed a number of

subsidised routes on the ‘Link’ bus network which feed into the core network. ‘WorkLink’ services, established three years ago, have extended bus services from parkand-ride areas to major industrial estates, including those in the Southside and Waterside regeneration areas. This will include the provision of a new ‘Medilink’ service between the city’s two public hospitals, which will run through the inner city area of Radford.

In addition, the council is seeking to improve walking and cycling links from the regeneration zones into the city centre and surrounding residential neighbourhoods. A network of primary pedestrian routes is being developed in the Southside regeneration area.

And in Waterside, access to a hitherto neglected part of

the river is being boosted by the provision of new cycling and walking routes. An action plan for the Trent River Park proposes new pedestrian and cycle bridges at Clifton and Colwick, and improvements to Lady Bay Bridge.

Road links too are being improved as part of the regeneration. In the Eastside zone, the council is planning to realign the A60 Huntingdon Street, the main arterial route through the area, into a two-way route. The realignment will make it easier to navigate for passing motorists and turn it into a true spine road for the area.

But improving the city’s economy relies on external as well as internal links. The city’s proximity to the booming East Midlands Airport, which will become more accessible thanks to the planned new tram and park-and-ride facilities, is a boon for the Nottingham economy.

But one bugbear remains – the city’s rail connections.

Increasing the frequency of high speed-services to London is important for attracting investors and developers, insists Horne, echoing a theme repeatedly made by Nottingham City Council leaders at the recent Core Cities Summit. Businesses do not necessarily want all of their operations in London these days, he says, but do need easy access to the capital, which developments around the Midland station potentially have.

The problem is the length of journey. While some trains take only 90 minutes to get to the capital, other services take two-and-a-half hours. “We should be exploiting the fact that we are closer to London than Manchester or Leeds. We are failing to capitalise on that,” says Horne. ❑

The council’s review of its transport offer has been wholesale.

The need to upgrade the train station and improve rail services are the only sticking points.

Nottingham 23

“We should be exploiting the fact that we are closer to London than Manchester or Leeds. We are failing to capitalise on that”

Chek Whyte Industries is trail-blazing the way in urban and brownfield regeneration in the UK. Our latest project is Whyte Tower which will be the tallest building in the Midlands and one of the highest outside London. This outstanding development features 266 luxury apartments, a 244-bed hotel and car parking, and will also include a separate 21-storey commercial tower incorporating a 1,000-seat conference centre. Whyte Tower has been designed by the world-renowned Ian Simpson Architects, known nationally and internationally for their award-winning landmark designs and projects.

We've already scaled the heights with our past projects, so you can be sure we have our feet firmly on the ground when it comes to spotting an outstanding development opportunity.

We have completed an £8 million redevelopment of a 17-storey tower block close to the centre of Nottingham. Taking a derelict council block, Chek Whyte Industries has transformed the building into over a hundred desirable apartments and has been instrumental in rejuvenating the surrounding area.

Our understanding of the market and the needs and desires of potential tenants and purchasers is second to none. We have a new-build mixed-use project at West Bar in Sheffield. This £26 million development has six floors of office space at the front and 84 apartments spread over five floors at the rear.

Further north, in Manchester we are currently developing Churchill Court and Rosehill Court, a collection of 94 one bedroom and 182 two bedroom luxury apartments in formerly derelict tower blocks. This £26 million site will have secure gated access with 140 parking spaces, an impressive new glazed entrance lobby with concierge facility, modern passenger lifts and a residents' only rooftop gym.

Our new £80 million Whytehall Luxury Retirement Village, situated in the 350 acre Stanford Hall Estate in rural Leicestershire will be the pinnacle of over 50s lifestyle living. Stanford includes 120, 2 bedroomed luxury apartments, along with an 80 bedroom hotel and leisure complex. .

If you'd like to get in on the ground floor and see your investment reach new peaks contact Amanda Wheel at Chek Whyte Industries: Hyson Green, Nottingham

The CWI Tower designed by

West Bar, Sheffield

Churchill & Rosehill Court, Salford

email: info@chekwhyteindustries.co.uk telephone: 0870 609 0111 alternatively visit www.chekwhyteindustries.co.uk

Nottingham 25

projects The major new developments that are set to transform Nottingham’s city centre and surrounding districts

Lace Market The Lace Market was the area where Nottingham’s own urban renaissance took off. And, although attention is now turning to the regeneration zones to the south and east, the historic city centre quarter is still a hub of development activity.

Lace Market Properties kicked off the area’s regeneration in the late 1990s with a string of projects, including the conversion of a

disused mill at 53 Stoney Street into 39 apartments. The company is now branching out into new-build projects with more than 4,200 new apartments either under construction or in planning.

LMP’s new flagship development in the area is the recently completed 14-storey Litmus Building – Nottingham’s tallest new build apartment block. The company claims

the £55 million Huntingdon Street scheme, which contains 296 flats, is exceeding previous rent records, fetching up to £900 per month. Other recently completed developments in Lace Market include the Lace Market Square development at Fletcher Gate and the Pod. “We’ve got people queuing up to get our properties,” says Mark Elliot, managing director of LMP.

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Nottingham 27

projects

Trinity Square Trinity Square is the largest new retail scheme to be developed in Nottingham since the Broadmarsh and Victoria shopping centres were built more than 30 years ago.

When complete it will offer a total of 22,500sq m (250,000sq ft) of commercial floorspace, including 17,000sq m (190,000sq ft of shops), the £100 million development scheme is designed to cement Nottingham’s position as one of the UK’s top retail destinations, a position

confirmed in the latest Experian rankings.

The scheme, near the Victoria centre and Clumber Street, Nottingham’s main shopping thoroughfare, also offers the largefloorplate, double-height units that high street retailers crave, but tend to be thin on the ground in city centre locations. The biggest unit has been snapped up by affordable fashion retailer TK Maxx, to create its city centre store.

Shops share the ground floor with three new restaurants, which face on to a new piazza, ensuring the scheme is a hub of activity throughout the day and late into the evening. The upper floors are occupied by 700 student flats for nearby Nottingham Trent University. The scheme also contains 480 parking spaces – 120 more than in the multi-storey car park that used to occupy the site before it was redeveloped by Overton, the retail arm of national developer Helical Bar.

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Nottingham 29

projects

The Island (Eastside) The Island site is the largest component of Eastside, one of the three regeneration zones being developed on the edge of Nottingham city centre.

London-based developer Eastside and City has secured outline permission from Nottingham City Council for the £900 million scheme to regenerate 13.7 hectares (33.8 acres) of derelict ex-industrial land to the east of the city centre, with the key objective of reintegrating Nottingham’s urban core with the deprived inner-city neighbourhoods of Sneinton and St Ann’s.

The 270,000sq m (3 million sq ft) scheme, masterplanned by Stirling Prizewinning architecture practice Hopkins and Partners, includes 125,000sq m (1.4 million sq ft) of commercial space and 1,400 residential units. The Island scheme is expected to generate nearly 10,000 full time jobs, nearly 12 times the number currently provided on the site.

The redevelopment will be linked by footpaths and public transport to the Nottingham Midland mainline railway station and the city centre. Land has been set aside within the scheme for a possible extension of the Nottingham tram network.

A spokesman for Eastside and City said it is very committed to both an early start to the scheme and the wider regeneration of the Eastside area.

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Vision Community Partnership Employment Prosperity

Things are developing on the Eastside.

EastsideCity. A stunning new mixed-use urban quarter in Nottingham.

Discover more about the magic of EastsideCity at the Marketing Suite.

To book an appointment, call 0115 924 7450.

EastsideCity, 15 Hockley, Nottingham NG1 1FH

www.eastside-city.com

Nottingham 31

projects

Broadmarsh Work is scheduled to start later this year on the long-awaited redevelopment of the Broadmarsh, Nottingham’s premier shopping centre. Developer Westfield secured consent from Nottingham City Council for the £700 million scheme six years ago, but a compulsory purchase order, needed for the scheme to go ahead, was only confirmed in May 2006.

The project will treble the size of the existing Broadmarsh, with 120,000sq m (1.3 million sq ft) of retail floorspace over three floors, which will help reinforce Nottingham’s position as one of the UK’s leading shopping centres. One of the two anchor department stores will be occupied

by Marks and Spencer, and Westfield recently announced Debenhams as the tenant for the other.

The development also features large-floorplate retail units, 3,000 car parking spaces, a new public square, and interchange for buses and trams.

As well as a 1,200-seat food court, the development will offer rooftop restaurants with panoramic views across the city. The project is expected to generate 5,200 jobs.

The scheme will also improve the integration of Nottingham city centre and Southside regeneration area by taking the form of a number of city blocks, rather than a monolithic shopping centre. Nottingham City Council leader Jon Collins said: “It will not only enhance Nottingham’s appeal as one of the country’s most popular shopping destinations, but will also revitalise that part of the city centre and complement our plans to transform the station and the south side of the city.”

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International Management & Construction Consultants

‘Profit through Sustainability’

Ken Carter Wilford House 1 Clifton Lane Wilford Nottingham NG11 7AT Tel: 0115 977 8000 Fax: 0115 977 8001 E-Mail: nottingham@gleeds.co.uk

Europe Asia Africa Australia The Middle East The Americas

www.gleeds.com

Nottingham 33

projects

The Pod, Lace Market Square On the edge of the Lace Market fashion district, the Pod is the latest in a string of major new additions to Nottingham’s fastgrowing retail and leisure offer.

Designed by Benson and Forsyth, the architect behind Edinburgh’s Museum of Scotland, the £25 million scheme offers a total of 9,600sq m (107,000sq ft) of retail space, a 142-bed Ibis hotel and 3,600sq m (40,000sq ft) of leisure space, including a rooftop bar and restaurant.

The retail units will be housed on the first two to three floors, with hotel and leisure facilities on top.

The Pod builds on the success of the Lace Market Square scheme, on an adjacent site in Fletcher Gate.

Sean Akins of Bildurn Properties, developer of both the Pod’ and Lace Market Square, developer, believes that Ibis will benefit from its Lace Market location. “There’s a lot of

demand for a quality budget hotel in the city centre,” he says.

He also believes there will be equally strong demand for the scheme’s retail and leisure space. The scheme is next to the Lace Market tram stop, a stone’s throw from Bridlesmith Gate, the favourite location for up-market fashion retailers in Nottingham.

Besides location, the Pod’s other big selling point is its large floorplate units, increasingly in demand by high street retailers. “The whole world and his dog wants to be in Bridlesmith Gate, and this offers big floorplates and modern space.”

Akins adds: “We anticipate that the Pod will attract new names to Nottingham, as well as creating 100 new jobs.”

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projects

NG2 ng2 business park on the site of Nottingham’s former Royal Ordnance Factory, has rapidly established itself as the first port of call for blue chip occupiers seeking space in the city.

During recent months, 80% of the ‘grade A’ office deals in Nottingham have been at ng2, which has set new records for office deals, breaking through the £20/sq ft mark. HBOS and Experian are among the major companies that have taken office space on the park, creating an emergent new financial district, while Homebase and Mercedes Benz are two of the retail occupiers.

The scheme’s developer Miller Birch says it is on the verge of announcing a tenant for the Cirrus, a recently completed three-storey office building, which features a distinctive design by Nottingham architect Mabers. A new hotel is also in the process of being let.

Its location, on the edge of the city centre, means it has good bus links and generous parking, compared to the nearby city centre. But what makes it unique for a business park is being on the planned route of the next phase of Nottingham’s tram system, which cuts through the park.

Mark Bielby, development director for Miller Birch, says: “NET phase two will run through the centre of ng2 along Enterprise Way, forming fast and efficient connections to the railway station, the University of Nottingham, QMC and Beeston.

“Connectivity will allow our occupiers, visitors and staff to access ng2 quickly, and provide a sustainable alternative to car travel. This will keep Nottingham at the forefront of promoting and delivering an integrated public transport network which sets the standards.”

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ng2: the Midlands premier business park

To find out more contact either: Innes England 0115 924 3243 Capital Business 0115 950 9000 King Sturge 0115 908 2120 or visit

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Nottingham 35

Iconic, inspiring in demand

projects Trent Basin (Waterside)

Meadows Gateway (Southside) Nottingham is now less than five hours from Paris, following the opening of the Eurostar terminal at St Pancras. Big plans are in place to regenerate the area around Nottingham station, the council’s Southside regeneration zone, to create a fitting gateway to the city.

The council and Nottingham Regeneration Ltd are encouraging a series of comprehensive development projects to secure this vision. The Meadows Gateway site, diagonally opposite the station is an important element of the Southside strategy.

Lace Market Properties has been selected as preferred developer. LMP submitted an outline planning application in early 2008 to develop a 45,000sq m (500,000sq ft) mixed-use project, containing flats, offices and a hotel. The £100 million scheme has been designed by Ken Shuttleworth’s Make architecture practice.

The other key site coming forward in the Southside area is Sovereign House, a disused post war office block and multi-storey car park opposite the station.

Developer Peel Holdings has won planning permission for 256 residential units and more than 2,700sq m (30,000sq ft) of commercial space on the site. The development, designed by architect Broadway Malyan, will consist of four new blocks, one of 12 storeys and the others of six or seven storeys.

With these schemes, and a number of other development projects, the council and NRL want to expand the size of the city centre, while creating new links between the Meadows area, one of Nottingham’s most deprived estates, and the nearby thriving city centre.

Work is progressing on Trent Basin, the key development project in the Waterside regeneration zone. The biggest of three urban quarters being planned in Nottingham, the 100ha Waterside area stretches from the edge of the city centre down to the River Trent.

The scheme capitalises on the huge potential of the River Trent and will open up the North Bank with a fully accessible pedestrian and cycle route linked via Trent Lane to existing communities to the north.

English Partnerships and Isis, the specialist waterside developer partowned by British Waterways, want Trent Basin to set the benchmark for development across Waterside.

The £390 million mixed-use scheme includes 2,200 homes, with a mix of housing types. High-density apartments are concentrated around the basin and river frontage, with townhouses and gardens on the outer edge of the site. “We won’t promote single yuppie flats. I don’t think that will work in Nottingham,” says Isis chief executive Mark Ryder.

“We are going to provide more family housing.”

As part of this effort, English Partnerships and Isis plan to restrict

off-plan sales to investors. The family homes will have low-level gardens or decks, some having roof terraces or patio gardens. Many of the new homes will feature semiprivate podiums, enabling children to play safely.

Trent Basin also includes 3,600sq m (40,000sq ft) of shops and 1,800sq m (20,000sq ft) of office units, which will be targeted at start up businesses. Adding to the mix will be a range of restaurants and bars set around the basin – a magnet for those living and working in the city centre, just 20 minutes’ walk away.

Following Nottingham City Council’s decision to grant outline planning consent for the scheme in September 2007, Isis, EP and NRL intend to launch a design competition for the site later in 2008. Ryder says: “The critical mass we create at Trent Basin will act as a catalyst for regeneration of the wider area.”

The Hub (Southside) Central to the regeneration of Southside, and Nottingham in general, is a multi-million pound masterplan for Nottingham station, turning it into an integrated transport hub. This regional gateway to the Big Wheel integrated transport system will connect the existing NET with two new tram lines, and with better bus, coach and car facilities, bringing many people to the area and

acting as a catalyst for development, effectively enlarging the city centre southwards.

The existing station will be radically altered – although the beautiful Edwardian buildings at the front will be retained and restored – with enhanced passenger facilities, upgraded travel information, shops, cafes and waiting areas, and the original grand booking hall reinstated.

Nottingham 37

eastern promise Nottingham is taking its twin town status with Ningbo to another level. Jonathan Morrison looks at the strong links being forged through the city’s newly installed Ningbo university campus.

The world’s attention is focused on China like never before – and not just because of the Beijing Olympics or the Terracotta Army recently on show in London. It is fast becoming an economic superpower – with a GDP still growing at around 11% per annum – and is poised to overtake Germany as the third richest nation in the world within weeks. It is already the third largest manufacturer.

Not surprisingly, the UK business community has finally woken up to China’s potential as both an investor and a market, and there is an increasing clamour to forge economic and cultural ties with the country. But Nottingham got there first.

Ningbo, Nottingham’s twin city, is far from identical: with a local population of close to seven million, one of the world’s biggest seaports, a major naval base and plenty of manufacturing industry, it’s difficult to imagine a more different place. But they have one thing at least in common: both cities have a University of Nottingham campus.

Nottingham was the first foreign university to establish a campus in China.

The first students enrolled in 2005, and by the end of 2008 there will be around 4,000 studying there. The Ningbo campus emphasises research and development, particularly in environmental sciences, finance and international relations, and has already won numerous plaudits, including the Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2006 in the international trade category.

The benefits for China are enormous: the university provides internationally recognised qualifications at a more ➔

Nottingham 39

9 September 2008 Hotel Russell, London W1 The first London Major Projects Forum, an exciting one-day summit, will bring together the leaders of the capital’s biggest schemes in an event developed for directors of regeneration and major projects, in both London and around the UK. The event will address all aspects of creating major schemes in the city, including financing, planning, feasibility, transport, construction, procurement and assessment of market demand.

Attendees can: ● Gain in-depth insight into complex project management topics ● Seek advice on issues common to large-scale schemes ● Benchmark projects with colleagues from across the capital Those in local authorities with responsibility for major projects, or for regeneration, planning, housing or regeneration finance, may be eligible for a free place.

To submit a paper, discuss sponsorship opportunities or claim your free delegate place, please contact project director Shelley Cook on 020 7978 6840 or shelley@3foxinternational.com For further information, event format, and venue and accommodation details, go to www.londonmajorprojects.co.uk

Nottingham 41

In response to this, urban thinkers looked abroad to other European countries in the 1990s, where cities like Barcelona were coming up with more environmentally

“Chinese students are being taught with an emphasis on independent thought” affordable price to Chinese students, helping to address the skills shortage that developed almost as rapidly as the economy expanded. And Chinese students are being taught in new ways, with an emphasis on independent thought and nuance, as opposed to the ‘black and white’ style of learning students are more used to – something that may prove to have farreaching consequences.

Jonathan Ray, director of communications at Nottingham University, says: “For the Chinese to say they need extra capacity in education and invite us to get involved is a powerful statement of where the country wants to get to. We took the view at the outset that there had to be constructive engagement, and that we had to be working from within the country. Chinese students receive the same robust education they would in the UK – we’re not out to provoke, but students do enjoy complete freedom.”

But what are the benefits to Nottingham? Ray explains: “It puts the city on the map. The profile of Nottingham is massive in Ningbo, and the rest of China now knows about Nottingham as well, because the Chinese media have given the university lots of positive coverage and a disproportionate amount of attention.

“We encourage our students to spend time abroad, because the employers we work with – companies

like KPMG, BP, Shell and PricewaterhouseCoopers – are increasingly demanding a global outlook from graduates. So we’re not just exporting skills – we’re bringing new ones back into the UK. Ningbo is a very Chinese part of China; it gives you an authentic Chinese experience.”

The opportunity to acquire both Mandarin and a first-hand knowledge of Chinese culture and business etiquette not only makes Nottingham’s students highly employable, but is critical to UK PLC’s ability to do business with China. Independent research has identified two major barriers to entry into the Chinese market: unsurprisingly, business culture and language.

The university has also acted as a sort of “foot-in-thedoor” for the rest of the city. Nottingham City Council launched the Nottingham Business Development Office on the Ningbo campus in June 2007. The council’s goal is to take the best of what’s on offer in the East Midlands, match it with market demand in China, and attract investment from the Far East.

Barry Horne, Nottingham City Council’s corporate director of environment and regeneration, commented: “The Nottingham Business Development Office is a new and exciting initiative resulting from our belief that China will be a future leading economic force in the world, and Ningbo will be at its economic centre. We ➔

NIngbo students are encouraged to spend time abroad to develop a global outlook, something that is increasingly desirable in the workplace.

“There’s an important cultural exchange taking place ”

Nottingham was the first foreign university to establish a campus in China. The Ningbo campus opened in 2005 and by the end of 2008 will have 4,000 students.

have recognised the great opportunity for collaboration between the East and West, between China and Nottingham.”

John Connelly, city council international manager, added: “We’ve moved away from simply being twintowns towards developing economic benefits and opportunities for Nottingham, mainly by identifying our strengths and then supporting them. For example, the university is a centre of excellence so we’ve been quick to support its new campus.

“Ningbo is also a centre for the Chinese textile and clothing manufacturing industries. In fact it produces around 12% of the garments made in China, which makes it an ideal partner for Nottingham. Obviously, Nottingham used to be a centre for manufacturing clothes and textiles, but our strengths now lie in fashion and design. We can provide the skills and training needed by the Chinese industry, but also sell them our designs.

“Nowadays, our economy is knowledge-based so we’re selling services, not products, and an increasing demand for these services in China will be translated into jobs in Nottingham.

“It’s still early days, but we’re making good progress with our office on the University of Nottingham Ningbo campus, and the potential is simply huge. China has vast resources earmarked for overseas investment, so in the long-term we are also encouraging individuals

and organisations to take part in the regeneration of Nottingham and invest in the city. We’re definitely promoting Nottingham as open for investment.

“There’s also an important cultural exchange taking place. It’s fair to say that in the past, the Chinese and British haven’t really understood each other.

Nottingham’s doing the UK a massive service by encouraging a greater interaction between the two countries.”

While the Chinese and the British do, in fact, have many things in common – such as football, as Nottingham Forest Football Club will discover when it arrives in China in 2008 on its Football Diplomacy initiative – there’s never been a greater need to force ties between the two countries.

As Sir Colin Campbell, Nottingham University’s vice-chancellor, says: “There is wisdom in reaching beyond borders, and clear sense in engaging seriously with another culture from within. This is especially true where levels of understanding – in particular of both a fast-changing China, and of the Muslim world – are in need of swift and significant improvement.” And Nottingham is one city actually doing something about it. ❑

Nottingham.

Take the next step.

You’ve read our story.

You’ve seen where we’re going. We want your business to come with us.

So, what’s your next step?

> > > >

Prime location Competitive labour costs Coveted universities World-class public transport

There’s no better place to start than Nottingham’s Inward Investment Team.

Our business is your business. Our free and confidential services for your business expansion and relocation include: > Identifying the right site for your business in the city or conurbation > Supplying city and region specific economic and market information > Helping you to recruit the right staff > Introducing you to business partnerships, networks and professionals > Adding value to your marketing and promotional campaigns > Support for incoming executives and employees > Business support and aftercare

To take the next step with Nottingham, visit www.visionnottingham.com or telephone +44 (0)115 9155381 or email enquires@visionnottingham.com

Regeneration in Nottingham...

Midlands Property Advisor of the Year

FI N IS H

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Midlands Property Advisor of the Year

...from start to finish with FHP! Midlands Property Advisor of the Year, Fisher Hargreaves Proctor, sold this former 1960s Boots PLC office complex in the emerging Southside Regeneration Area of Nottingham to Northern Ireland Developer of the Year, McAleer & Rushe. We were then retained by McAleer & Rushe, acquired two further pieces of land for them and provided strategic advice to their design team in terms of their product mix. We ‘opened the door’ for them to the planning department and helped secure planning permission for a 300,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme – we even came up with the name! We let the 259-bed hotel to Jurys Inn, valued it for the bank, sold the majority of the 106 apartments and pre-let 40,000 sq ft of the office building. We now manage the entire £60 million development. Interested? Call David Hargreaves on 07876 396 003.

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