City gateway improved with restoration of iconic building’s shopfronts

One of Nottingham’s most iconic buildings has been rejuvenated using heritage funding.

Located on a key route between Nottingham railway station and the city centre, City Buildings have had extensive improvement work carried out using funding from the Carrington Street Area Townscape Heritage Scheme, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Five shops have had their historic shopfronts restored, while two unused units have had their details reinstated and converted into entrances for the floors above. The units, which have seen their shopfronts restored include The Urban Rooms at No.38, 46-48 and 36-32 Carrington Street.

In 2016, the National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded £682,400 to Nottingham City Council for a five-year scheme to provide grants to eligible owners or tenants of historic buildings. These provided up to 67% of the costs of building repairs or other townscape heritage works, such as the reinstatement of a traditional shop-fronts, in the Carrington Street area.

The works at the City Buildings, owned by Shoby Properties Ltd, complement the recent office conversion on the upper floors, carried out on behalf of the building owners by Office Innovations, which includes the careful restoration of the upper floor windows.

City Buildings was designed by Gilbert Scott Doughty in 1896 in a Renaissance Revival Style. Its iconic corner tower was added later. Doughty was an important local Victorian architect, born in Lenton in 1862 and responsible for seven listed buildings in the city, including a run of buildings on Derby Road and the Thurland Hall Public House. One of the building’s first and best known tenants were Redmayne and Todd, a sporting equipment merchants who moved into the corner unit in 1903 until 1993.

Councillor Linda Woodings, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Housing and Heritage at Nottingham City Council said, “We’re pleased to be working closely with building owners and businesses in the Carrington Street area to help restore and preserve of some of the buildings historic character, which otherwise might have been lost.

“The south side of the city centre is undergoing a major transformation, and Carrington Street is one of the first views visitors see when travelling into the city. This scheme is not only helping to improve the look of this busy pedestrian route and transform the Carrington Street area back into the impressive gateway it once was, but it is also helping to preserve and restore some of Nottingham’s important historical features and character for future generations to come.

“Heritage led regeneration not only helps to revitalise and bring vacant units back into use, but can also act as a catalyst for further investment, which will be really important for Nottingham as the city recovers from Covid-19 and lockdown restrictions are eased.”