Broadmarsh

Broadmarsh (also known as The Broadmarsh Centre and rebranded in 2013 as intu Broadmarsh) is a currently closed shopping centre located slightly south of the centre of Nottingham, England, on land owned by Nottingham City Council and formerly leased to Intu Properties.

intu Broadmarsh

Entrance to the Broadmarsh Centre from Low Pavement
Location	Nottingham City Centre, England
Coordinates	52°57′0″N 1°08′55″W
Address	Lister Gate
Opening date	1972
Developer	Intu Group
Management	Intu Properties
Owner	Intu Properties (70%) Nottingham City Council (30%)
No. of stores and services	55[1]
No. of anchor tenants	5
Total retail floor area	45,000 m^2 (480,000 sq ft)
No. of floors	2
Public transit access	Broadmarsh bus station
Website	intu.co.uk/broadmarsh

History

The shopping centre was built in the early 1970s in an area that was historically boggy ground, on the outskirts of the medieval town (hence the name). It was once occupied by the Franciscan Friary known as Greyfriars, Nottingham, which was dissolved in 1539.[2] The area was cleared of all buildings to accommodate the new shopping centre.[3][4]

A former tannery within the caves under the shopping centre

During preparation of the site, many caves and cellars dug into the soft sandstone foundations of the city were rediscovered (both ancient and more recent). The caves were to be destroyed as part of the construction, but activism by residents and historians allowed the caves to be preserved. The caves were excavated by staff from Nottingham City Council's museums service and local history enthusiasts. Some are now open to the public as part of the City of Caves museum beneath the shopping centre, and are protected as a Scheduled Monument.[5]

Cafe beside the centre entrance

The centre, which opened to the public in 1975,[6] was originally intended to be an Arndale Centre, and the associated parking structure – once voted the "ugliest building in Nottingham" – is still known as the Arndale Car Park. The centre underwent a major cosmetic refurbishment in 1988.[7]

Redevelopment

Nottingham City Council, owners of the leasehold on the centre, had as of 2013 been attempting to encourage development at Broadmarsh for "almost two decades".[8] Their 2002 development brief called for a development that "respects the urban grain of the City Centre, with clear streets and urban blocks of buildings to provide for legibility, separate identity and future flexibility" with a clear north–south route linking Nottingham's Old Market Square and railway station, stating, "This route must take the form of a pedestrianised public street."[9]

In November 2002, plans to demolish the existing shopping centre, car park, and adjoining Broadmarsh bus station were approved.[10]

In April 2007, a plan nearly identical to that proposed in 2002 was approved. The three-year redevelopment plan would have involved the demolition of much of the centre, the car park, and the adjoining bus station.[11]

In November 2011, it was announced that Capital Shopping Centres (CSC), owners of the Victoria Shopping Centre, just north of the city centre, had bought Westfield's stake in Broadmarsh.[12][13] The purchase prompted an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission, which was concerned the company's monopoly over the city's shopping centres could negatively impact competition.[14]

In February 2013, CSC changed its name to Intu Properties plc.[15] The new owners wished to start an already planned development of the Victoria Centre, but Nottingham City Council insisted that Broadmarsh must be their "priority" and offered £50 million towards its redevelopment.[16] The deputy leader of Nottingham City Council said the council would withhold planning permission for the development of the Victoria Centre until they "see bulldozers going into the Broadmarsh Centre".[8]

A new plan for a limited redevelopment of some of the centre received planning approval in June 2015.[17] The plans included the retention of most of the fabric of the 1970s' mall and existing tenants, including Boots, Wilko and BrightHouse, with some cosmetic updating. A nine-screen cinema was to be constructed at a remodelled south-eastern corner, along with new leisure and restaurant spaces. Drury Walk was planned as "Bridlesmith Square", providing a new area outside intu Broadmarsh, targeted at upmarket brands. Counter to the 2002 Development Brief, the new walkway between the city centre and station was planned to be within the existing enclosed shopping mall, under a new glass roof.[18]

Construction company Sir Robert McAlpine were given the contract to start work on the long-awaited redevelopment of the centre with phased demolition of the Broadmarsh centre starting in October 2019[19][20] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, redevelopment work was halted in March 2020. Despite a relaxation of rules allowing construction projects to continue, contractors failed to return to the site in May 2020.[21] with equipment and scaffolding being removed in June 2020, and the centre being closed by Intu citing safety concerns.[22]

Work was halted in June 2020, owing to the owners Intu Properties going into administration.[23]

By early July 2020 the part-demolished shopping centre had closed and the site was handed back to the freeholder, Nottingham City Council.[24]

On 6 August 2020, it was announced that the centre would be completely demolished at a cost of £8 million. A mixed-use development is now planned for the site.[25]

City Hub

A 2017 plan to redevelop the adjacent land along Canal Street, for the benefit of Nottingham College, was approved.[26] Work started on the £58m City Hub in 2018. It is a six-storey building designed by Sheffield-based architecture firm Bond Bryan. It is being constructed by Wates and will incidentally provide training and employment opportunities including 24 work placements, 16 new jobs, 13 apprentice placements and training for 11 NVQs.[27]

References

1. "Our Stores". The Westfield Group. Archived from the original on 13 August 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
2. William Page, ed. (1910). 'Friaries: Franciscan friars of Nottingham', A History of the County of Nottingham: Volume 2. Victoria County History. pp. 144–145.
3. Weir, Christopher (2007). Turning Back the Pages in Old Broad Marsh and Narrow Marsh. ISBN 978-0902751590.
4. Broad Marsh and Narrow Marsh - The Story of a Nottingham Community Online Exhibition spread across 8 pages.
5. Scott C. Lomax (17 October 2013). Nottingham: The Buried Past of a Historic City Revealed. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-4738-2999-2.
6. Broad Marsh and Narrow Marsh – The Story of a Nottingham Community – Nottinghamshire County Council
7. "Broadmarsh". Shopping in Nottingham. Archived from the original on 10 January 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
8. "Nottingham's Broadmarsh shopping centre 'risk'". BBC News. 3 March 2013.
9. "Broadmarsh Development Brief 2002". Nottingham Insight.
10. "City gets new centre". BBC News. 21 November 2002. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
11. "Redevelopment Plan". Nottingham City Council. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012.
12. "Westfield sells Nottingham's Broadmarsh shopping centre". BBC News. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
13. "Westfield to sell Broadmarsh Centre". this is Nottingham. 10 November 2011. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
14. "Probe into Nottingham Broadmarsh shopping centre deal". BBC News. 10 January 2012.
15. Monaghan, Angela (15 January 2013). "Capital Shopping Centres rebrands as Intu and launches fashion website". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
16. "Nottingham's Broadmarsh Centre deal to transform city". BBC News. 11 November 2013.
17. "Nottingham's Broadmarsh centre revamp plans approved". BBC News. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
18. "Caves and leisure for new-look Broadmarsh Centre". Nottingham Post. 7 April 2015. Archived from the original on 18 July 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
19. Morby, Aaron. "McAlpine signs-off £86m Nottingham Broadmarsh revamp". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
20. Metcalf, Sam. "Broadmarsh redevelopment to take major step forward". The Business Desk. Regional Media Services Ltd. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
21. Locker, Joseph. "Uncertain future for Broadmarsh centre redevelopment as construction workers remain absent". Nottinghamshire Live. Local World. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
22. Topping, Andrew. "Everything we know so far about intu Broadmarsh closing its doors". Nottinghamshire Live. Local World. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
23. "Should Nottingham's half-finished Broadmarsh Centre be knocked down?". BBC News.
24. "Broadmarsh liquidation hands control of site to council". BBC News.
25. Sandeman, Kit (6 August 2020). "£8million plan to demolish the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre". Retrieved 6 August 2020.
26. Robinson, Dan (30 October 2017). "Here's what new £58m City Hub campus for Nottingham College could look like". nottinghampost. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
27. "New City Hub set to inspire students at Nottingham College - Scape Group". Scape Group. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.