Willmott Dixon will be the main contractor on the next phase of the Broad Marsh Green Heart regeneration project for Nottingham City Council.
The council obtained c. €9.3m from D2N2 through the Getting Building Fund. They also received an extra c. €4.7m from the Transforming Cities Fund.
The Green Heart regeneration project is a crucial part of the redevelopment plan for Nottingham’s c. 81,000m2 Broad Marsh area. This area was once home to a large shopping centre demolished by Willmott Dixon in 2022 with help from Pick Everard.
The Green Heart regeneration project procured through SCAPE aims to create green, environmentally diverse areas with natural spaces to support wildlife. It will be part of a network of green spaces connecting the Broad Marsh area from Nottingham Castle to the c. 145,700m2 Island Quarter regeneration site. The main goal of the project is to restore the ‘marsh’ to the Broad Marsh area by introducing new urban wetlands. This will help capture, slow down, and filter rainwater, which could potentially prevent flooding and also boost biodiversity.
“Nottingham’s Broad Marsh Green Heart vision is a regeneration project with valuable green space at its core. Green space is important for the beating heart of all urban environments, and it brings major benefits too, according to the World Economic Forum’s ‘BiodiverCities by 2030’ report, which looked at the importance of changing the relationship between nature and our towns and cities,” said Nick Heath, director at Willmott Dixon.
"More green space was by far the most popular response when we asked people what they would like to see happen around Broad Marsh as part of the huge Big Conversation engagement exercise the council ran a couple of years ago. Anyone who has visited the area recently will see how much it has changed with lots of greenery, pedestrianised areas, and seating. The creation of the Green Heart will take the transformation of Broad Marsh a major step further and be a beautiful addition to the city centre which is unique to Nottingham,” said the leader of Nottingham City Council, David Mellen.
“It is fantastic to be supporting the next phase of this iconic regeneration scheme, with a nature-first design that will encourage rewilding and improve biodiversity. Providing accessible green space is not only essential for supporting the health and wellbeing of Nottingham’s residents and visitors but it also plays a key role in helping Nottingham City Council achieve their target of becoming net zero by 2028,” commented Mark Robinson, group chief executive at SCAPE.
Willmott Dixon has already begun construction on a new public space opposite the upcoming Central Library. Construction of the Broad Marsh Green Heart regeneration project will begin this autumn.
