intu closes Broadmarsh shopping centre to visitors

Intu has announced it has completely closed its Broadmarsh shopping centre.

In a statement on Friday afternoon (12 June), the troubled shopping centre owner said it won’t be re-opening today (15 June) because of safety issues, meaning the few shops left open in the mall will be closed as the rest of the city’s stores reopen.

Intu stopped work on the redevelopment of the Broadmarsh mall in March in line with government regulations over the lockdown. However, as other construction sites returned to action – it remained empty.

The statement said: “We have been reviewing the site for a number of weeks now and it’s become clear that we can’t re-open our doors with construction at a standstill and the site the way it currently is. There are health and safety considerations to take into account and we’re not prepared to put anyone at risk. Safety is always our priority, and for that reason the centre is now temporarily closed.

“We know this will be disappointing news, but we feel this is the responsible thing to do with visitor and staffing levels set to rise with the re-opening of non-essential retail. The safety of our employees and visitors always comes first and that has guided this decision.

“We have out people, our brand customers and our partner at the [city] council know and we will continue to work with them on the future of the centre.”

Nottingham City Council said it was a “disappointing but understandable” decision.

City Council leader, councillor David Mellen, said: “It’s an operational matter for intu to decide whether or not they can safely open their facilities during the ongoing pandemic. We completely agree that their first priority must be people’s safety. It is of course disappointing as we prepare to start to reopen the city for workers and shoppers, but we understand and accept their decision to close. We will continue our dialogue with them on the future of the centre.

“In the meantime we will be moving ahead soon with our own plan to transform the public space around Broadmarsh and the wider regeneration of the Southside area is continuing, including our schemes for the Castle and new car park, bus station and library, as well as the new Nottingham College City Hub new offices, residential developments and Island Quarter. We remain ambitious for the city’s future and the opportunities these developments will bring for local people, visitors and those looking to make investment decisions as the country makes an economic recovery from coronavirus.”