Guildhall development: local business reaction
The news that the long-awaited redevelopment of the Guildhall site in Nottingham will go ahead next year has been nearly universally-welcomed by the local business community. We spoke to a group of business leaders to gauge reaction.
Tim Garratt, Innes England: “That part of town does need something new. With the Newton building extension, Eon and the surrounding area, it is the last piece of the jigsaw. I do think we need a hotel. It needs to be high quality. It will be a fantastic building.”
Ian Borley, KPMG: “The announcement that the landmark Guildhall building is set to be given a new lease of life by Miller Birch has generated a real buzz in the city, and it’s extremely welcoming news for Nottingham’s tourism industry that luxury hotel facilities are opening in such an iconic part of town.
“The redevelopment is likely to create a substantial number of job opportunities, significantly boosting the local economy from day one of the transformation. The build of new conference facilities and offices will be watched eagerly by firms clamouring for coveted space in a city benefitting from a period of accelerated inward investment, as Nottingham continues to cement itself as a city on the up.”
Les Needham, G F Tomlinson: “We have been eagerly awaiting something to happen to that area of Nottingham for a while. This will be a fantastic scheme for Nottingham.”
Bev Cook
Bev Cook, Simple Marketing Consultancy: “Personally, I don’t think Nottingham needs another mediocre hotel, four-star hotel.
“It needs a five-star hotel with top notch banqueting facilities that is able to to attract and host elite events and guests.
“The Guildhall is in a prime location, it’s a highly prestigious building – let’s glitz it up, market the hotel and Nottingham better, provide some high class shopping and big names to the Theatre Royal, Playhouse, The Royal Concert Hall again and let’s start attracting some wealth back to our City.
“The date of its completion should also be quite timely as the redevelopment of the train station gateway and Intu Broadmarsh will give visitors the five star look and feel as they arrive in our City, so we should be able to offer five-star experience.”
