Sale of Broadmarsh in Nottingham to fund new team boosting regeneration in the city
The City Council’s leadership say it's securing “our slice of the pie” when it comes to funding and investment opportunities
We're hearing how savings from selling Nottingham’s former Broadmarsh Shopping Centre will fund a new team to help attract investment and boost regeneration in the city.
The council say they'll be hiring a new team to focus on securing funding and driving major projects, including new homes and business spaces.
Nottingham City Council’s leadership says a team of around four people will be employed to better attract money to the city – securing “our slice of the pie” when it comes to funding and investment opportunities.
Larger cities across the country currently have regeneration teams to help them land funding, but Nottingham’s team was cut.
Money for the new team will be coming from savings made now the wider Broadmarsh site has been sold, with government housing agency Homes England having purchased it in March.
Cllr Neghat Khan, the council’s leader, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “We used to have a regeneration team and when we talk about Manchester, Birmingham, and all these other big places, they have a big regeneration team.
“If you want to attract money and you want things to happen in the city you need a team to do that.
“You can’t just say to people; ‘economic development, add that to your day job’.
“This team will actually pay for itself over the years as well.”
The 20-acre site was handed to the council after its previous owner, intu, collapsed into administration in 2020.
While the £10m Broadmarsh car park and bus station, new Central Library, and Green Heart park area have already opened, a vast section of the site remains half-demolished.
In March, a response to a Freedom of Information request, submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, revealed £3.9m had been spent by the authority on holding and security costs for the site.
After the sale, Homes England said it plans to realise the vision for the site, turning it into around 1,000 homes, and up to 20,000 square metres of retail, office and community space.
A council document says more funding is up for grabs for the city, particularly upon the establishment of the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA).
The authority says staff are therefore needed to ensure that Nottingham is able to develop and deliver a pipeline of regeneration schemes to maximise the benefits to the city – as well as drive forward major regeneration and development schemes, including the Broadmarsh, Waterside and Island Quarter sites.
The cost of the team for the year will be £400,000, and the council documents show up to £290,000 has been approved for the 2025/26 financial year to set the team up.
Deputy leader of the council and executive member for finance, Cllr Ethan Radford (Lab), added: “When people see big capital projects being done in the city, it is not often it is actually the council that has done it. Take the £20m investment in Clifton, the £20m in Bulwell, a large part of the capital spending that goes on in the city is Government money or money from other organisations that we have successfully bid for.
“If we are wanting to attract that investment then we need this team. But not only that investment, but identify areas where there are £150m-worth of contracts and grants up for grabs – is anyone actually going to look at these and apply for them, so it’s not just Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds getting them.
“We want our slice of the pie. But you need a dedicated team.”