Historical city street takes 'step' toward recovery

Many shops have closed along Lister Gate in recent years

Nottingham City Council's leader expects more empty shop units in a historical city centre street to be filled.

Lister Gate in Nottingham has seen many stores close over recent years and units have been left vacant, but there are now signs of life.

Sports Direct is set to move into a unit previously occupied by H&M, and an NHS diagnostic centre is being built nearby, with both due to open in 2025.

Council leader Neghat Khan called it "another step in the recovery" of the area.

Window signs say Sports Direct will open in Lister Gate next year

"More shops will now start filling up because people can see what we're actually doing and you might as well get in there while things are cheaper to rent...I think they'll get snapped up really quickly", she said.

Asked about her ambitions for Lister Gate, Ms Khan said she wants so see "thriving businesses and a massive footfall coming through, because it's just going to grow and grow."

The Labour council leader, who took over the authority in May, added there will be "other good news hopefully coming before the end of the year" about the wider area.

It follows the recent opening of a new park in the Broadmarsh, and Ms Khan previously said she hopes the site will be fully redeveloped by 2027.

The derelict site was taken over by the council in 2020 after shopping centre operator intu went into administration.

Alex Flint from It's in Nottingham said Lister Gate is seeing a change of fortunes

The city's Business Improvement District (BID), called It's in Nottingham, said it expects footfall along Lister Gate to increase as more units are filled.

Alex Flint, chief executive of It’s in Nottingham, said: "You can see from the operators coming into the area, they're premium operators with good business intelligence.

"They've clearly done their due diligence and know the patterns and trends to look for and identify emerging areas to base themselves in."

Units at the southern end of Lister Gate are due to be turned into a medical centre

Mr Flint said the opening of the Broadmarsh "Green Heart" has also helped.

"It means the footfall has a direct route into the city centre itself, and just makes it a much nicer place to be", he said.

"This end of the city feels completely different now", he added.