Presentation by Adam Tamsett, General Manager, Intu Broadmarsh
Minutes:
Adam Tamsett, Manager, Intu Broadmarsh and Janine Bone, Regional Director, Intu, gave a presentation on the redevelopment of the Intu Broadmarsh shopping centre, highlighting the following points:
(a)
the Broadmarsh redevelopment is an important part of
Intu’s vision for Nottingham City
Centre, following the refurbishment of Intu Victoria Centre by Christmas 2015. The
ultimate aim is to help raise Nottingham’s retail rankings
and for both centres to complement each other and give a different
offer. The redevelopment also ties in with the Council’s
‘Southern Gateway’ plans including the pedestrianisation of Collin Street and Broadmarsh carpark
improvements;
(b)
Intu Broadmarsh will provide better pedestrian routes
and connections to the wider city and will be reinvigorated with
new places to shop, eat, relax and play, from daytime through to
evening including:
· a variety of places to eat from grab and go to sit-down restaurants;
· a multi-screen cinema and new places to relax and play, possibly a bowling alley or a playcentre;
· new toilets, parent and child facilities and accessible facilities for wheelchair users;
(c)
new entrances to the centre will be created at Collin Street,
Middle Hill and Drury Walk
(d)
the brick wall which currently faces
onto Collin Street will be cut through to create a new realigned
route from Collin Street to Lister Gate. This link will be much
wider than the current walkway and will have a fully glazed
ceiling. It will have the look and feel of an external street with
paving and brick walls, despite being indoors;
(e)
the upper mall will house new
restaurants, a multi-screen cinema and entertainment facilities.
The interior of the mall will be completely refurbished in a style
similar to the refurbishment of Intu
Victoria Centre. The façade of the building facing Middle
Hill will have a new entrance which will lead directly to the upper
mall and cinema. New outward-facing glazing will be cut into this
façade. One of the bridges which link to the multi-storey
carpark will be retained and
modernised;
(f)
the roof of the Drury Walk entrance will
be removed and this will be widened to create an open street with a
pocket square, which aligns with Bridlesmith Gate. The new buildings in this area
are designed to complement the existing heritage buildings on
Middle Pavement.
(g) the existing flagship stores will remain but the tenant mix will be improved, from High Street retail in the main mall to high-end retail at Drury Walk;
Adam and Janine gave the following responses to questions asked by the Committee:
(h)
the public consultation has received 1500 responses, 89% of which
have been positive;
(i)
an open street with no doors between
Collin Street and Lister Gate has been investigated but public
response to this in similar schemes such as Westfield in London has
been unpopular. Customers expect an indoor mall and having no doors
will create a wind tunnel. The ambition is for the route to feel
like an open street despite being indoors. The doors will be larger
and more user-friendly than at the current centre;
(j)
a new tram stop is planned at Collin
Street and the new entrance on Middle Hill is designed to link with
this. Architects are still working on designs for this entrance and
it may be made more prominent. The façade here will be clad
in a high quality material to entice people;
(k)
the centre has been designed to be
delivered either with or without future pedestrianisation of Collin Street so as not to
delay the refurbishment, however the aspiration is for the schemes
to complement each other;
(l)
the design of the new buildings at Drury
Walk will use high quality materials in a traditional style.
Research has been done about the original buildings that
Broadmarsh replaced when it was
originally built and used in the design. The pocket square will
integrate with the garden at the back of Jamie’s
Italian;
(m)the new shop units have been
designed using Intu’s retail
expertise to be of a sufficient size and quality to attract new
tenants
(n) the Middle Hill area of the mall will have new glazing but the main mall will have no new natural light due to costs. However, there will be improvements to the artificial lighting and wooden panelled ceilings to increase the sense of space.
RESOLVED to note the presentation and thank Adam and Janine for including the City Centre Forum in its consultation.