New Broad Marsh walkway set to open
A new pedestrian route is to be opened up across the demolished section of the former Broadmarsh shopping centre.
The route will provide uninterrupted open air access between the Southside of the city into the city centre for the first time since the Broadmarsh centre was built in the early 1970s. More recently, a covered walkway has been in place to maintain pedestrian access during demolition.
City Council Leader, councillor David Mellen, said: “There are huge changes underway in the Broad Marsh area, with vastly improved streets creating pleasant areas to walk and relax, along with the new car park that’s already open, bus station that has started running coach services and the Central Library where fit-out is underway.
“Of course, one of the major changes is the demolition of the former shopping centre, which makes way for a fantastic vision of what could replace it, with a bid for £20m of Levelling Up Funding submitted to Government last week. We’re pleased that this phase of demolition is now nearing completion, allowing us to open up a new open air pedestrian route between the Southside and city centre for the first time in almost fifty years.
“This is a small but significant step towards creating a reimagined gateway to the city that will play an important role in Nottingham’s future, making it a more attractive and accessible part of the city.”
Once contractor Willmott Dixon, acting on behalf of the City Council, has completed demolition and clearance of a substantial section of the shopping centre, including areas most recently occupied by Argos, BHS, Boots and TK Maxx among others, it will be possible to provide a pedestrian link between Collin Street and Listergate.
Subject to completion of site clearance, it’s hoped the new route will open next month (September) with the previous covered walkway being closed.
The walkway will be four metres wide, with lighting and CCTV and bollards at either end, fenced off from the demolition site either side. The new pedestrian route across the site will eventually be fully developed to tie in with the Collin Street improvements and become part of the ‘green heart’ space that’s been set out in the vision for the Broad Marsh site.
