Broadmarsh: Olympics chief to advise on 'open sore' shopping site

The panel has been asked to recommend options for the site

A former Olympics director is to help redevelop the site of a half-demolished shopping centre that has been described as a "dead whale" and an "open sore".

Greg Nugent, who worked on the 2012 Olympics, will lead an independent panel to redesign land surrounding the former Broadmarsh shopping centre, in Nottingham.

The panel has been asked to recommend options for the 20-acre site.

The recommendation is due to be published in the summer.

'A catalyst'

The panel said the redevelopment was a "huge opportunity"

Work to transform the Broadmarsh Centre into a new retail hub stalled during lockdown due to the collapse of previous owners Intu in June.

Nottingham City Council, which owns the site, has set up the Greater Broadmarsh Advisory Group.

The panel also includes Sir Tim Smit, founder of the Eden Project, Jerome Frost, who has worked on regeneration projects including the London Olympic and Paralympic Park and architect and urban designer Kathryn Frith.

The panel has been asked to recommend a creative vision for the space.

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Mr Nugent, who was the London Olympics' marketing director, said: "Our job is to look at what would work best.

"It needs to be something that feels like a catalyst for the whole of Nottingham."

The council has suggested the space could be used for a mixture of living and working, as well as green space

Mr Nugent said the development was a "huge opportunity" for the city.

"It should be something the rest of the world talks about," he said.

"All cities are changing and Covid's forcing that change. It would be great to show all cities how to do it now and put Nottingham at the forefront of urban planning."

The panel will publish its recommendations in the summer

David Mellen, leader of Nottingham City Council, said the space could be used for a mixture of living and working, as well as green space.

"This is one of the largest development spaces of this nature in any core city in Europe and represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Nottingham," he said.