Hundreds of jobs to be created as plans submitted for Boots Island site

Plans for a huge mixed-use scheme on a long-neglected 40-acre city centre site have been submitted to Nottingham City Council.

Conygar Investment Company, which owns the Boots Island site in Nottingham, has told TheBusinessDesk.com, that the plans, which include new homes, grade A office space, creative market space, a five-star hotel, retail units, a ‘linear’ park and community space as well as new student accommodation to the city, “will help Nottingham punch it weight”.

Christopher Ware of Conygar told us: “We’ve taken a wider view than previous plans for this site. Our scheme is easier to phase, and because we don’t have any debt, we have cash in the bank that can be deployed on the site.”

Ware said that Conygar “don’t necessarily need” pre-let tenants signed up for the site before any development work can take place.

He added: “It’s been widely-publicised that there is a lack of Grade A office space in the city centre of Nottingham. The city has lost out to other cities when it’s come to large inward investment requirements

“There is also lack of high quality hotel space in Nottingham. We’re talking to a number of operators, as there’s a real gap in the market in the city.”

Ware told us the development will create “hundreds of jobs”, both when it is occupied and in the build-out.

He said: “We’ve been working hard in the background, and our aim is to get a spade in the ground early in 2019. The timescale to complete the full project will depend on market demand.

“What we have here is an opportunity to create something different on a site that has been neglected for 20 years. Our feeling is that Nottingham hasn’t punched its own weight – this development will help the city do that.”

Lorraine Baggs, head of inward investment at Invest in Nottingham, added: “We are very pleased to see a planning application submitted for this significant site within the city centre. It is one of a number of planned schemes that forms part of the Southern Gateway and will breathe new life into a site which has sat unloved for many years.”

Conygar is working with regeneration specialist Lavignac Securities to deliver the site, which lies between Manvers Street at the bottom of Sneinton and London Road.

Greg Miller-Cheevers of Lavignac, said: “This scheme forms an integral part of Nottingham’s Southern Gateway and we will be creating new places to live, work and play – creating a new community within the city centre.

“Our plans for a mixed-use scheme including homes, retail, office, creative and leisure spaces will complement the other development happening in the city; we are delighted to see this important scheme taking a step forwards.”