Pop-up businesses sought for Broad Marsh area

Nottingham's new Central Library

Nottingham City Council says it is “exploring options” for bringing activities to the streets around the Broad Marsh area in order to create a new destination to attract visitors.

The move could initially see temporary pop-up businesses setting up shop on Sussex Street, Collin Street and Listergate, which could potentially stay in the area long-term.

The council is looking for ideas from potential operators. Proposals are at an early stage, but could involve independent traders, food and drink outlets, entertainment including seasonal events and opportunities for local producers, suppliers and artists to showcase themselves. The aim is to provide opportunities to temporarily use sites initially for up to five years, with a view to starting to establish some of the new activities from towards the end of this year.

The three proposed sites are a 5,000 sq ft area at the bottom of the amphitheatre steps on Sussex Street near Nottingham College, and 7,500 sq ft spaces on Collin Street across from the new library and the Lister Square part of the new Green Heart area.

City Council leader, councillor David Mellen, said: “We’ve made fantastic progress on our plans to completely change the look and feel of this part of the city. Streets that were once filled with traffic are now pleasant places to be, students are enjoying the new college, and the new bus station and car park are up and running in a modern building where the new central library will open later this year.

“Work on the Green Heart and Collin Street improvements will also get underway this year – but we know that it will be some years before the vision for the whole site will be fully realised. Rather than wait, we are keen to start to find ways to animate the area, make it a destination in its own right and give people reasons to linger and enjoy it rather than simply passing through. We want to hear from organisations with ideas for what could help to animate the area, for an initial period of up to five years, with a view to becoming part of the Broad Marsh experience long-term.”

Any interested parties have until Friday 10 March to get involved with the ideas-gathering exercise here.

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