Spotlight on...Nottingham

The home of Robin Hood, Lord Byron and Boots, Nottingham is a city with a rich history and cultural heritage. It is also ambitious, forward looking and has a bright future. With a plan to become the UK's first carbon neutral city, it also has a unique opportunity to reimagine large swathes of the city with the following developments.

• Nottingham Broadmarsh area - Occupying a 20-acre plot in the heart of the city, the site of the former Broadmarsh shopping centre is poised for redevelopment. The City Council is consulting on plans for the site and is set to lead the way in re-imagining urban areas for the carbon-neutral age with an innovative and sustainable mixed-use development which will dramatically enhance the entrance to the City.

• Southside development – The south of the city adjacent to the Broadmarsh forms part of a wider £2bn regeneration project, which includes the £650m Island Quarter scheme, new offices and the world-class BioCity bioscience campus.

Deborah Gordon-Brown, head of Shoosmiths’s Nottingham office, has been leading discussions with local stakeholders about how the Broadmarsh and Southside developments can fit into wider plans for Nottingham to become a truly sustainable city.

• East Midlands Freeport – Outside Nottingham, the East Midlands Freeport has been selected as one of only eight regions in England to be a Freeport. This will bring a number of benefits, such as more generous tax reliefs, customs benefits and wider government support bringing investment, development, trade and jobs to the region. See our article for more details on this.

• Satellite offices – The recently completed Unity Square Government Hub in Nottingham is set to become one of HMRC’s largest regional offices and paves the way for other government departments and business relocating from the South East.

With the recent High Court dismissal of a legal challenge to “radical” planning reforms, there is greater flexibility to change existing buildings to office use within Class E of the Use Classes Order and through permitted development rights, making it easier for more satellite offices to come forward in the future.

We have recently established a full-time planning team in our Nottingham office on Station Street and are proud to support the sustainable growth of the city during this exciting chapter in its history.