'City within a city' plans to gain 'renewed momentum'

ISLAND QUARTER PROGRESS TALKS

- By JOSHUA HARTLEY

THE firm behind the £1.4 billion transformation of Nottingham’s largest regeneration site has said it will gain “renewed momentum” this year.

The Island Quarter site, known as Boots Island before the city’s health and beauty giant left in 1996, was bought by developer Conygar in 2016.

A decade on, parts of the 36-acre site between London Road and Manvers Street have been fully regenerated, but large swathes remain wasteland.

While the first phase of the ambitious plan to create a “city within a city” was completed in 2022 with the opening of the Binks Yard and Cleaver and Wake venues, visible progress slowed after Winfield Court - a 693-bed student accommodation block - was completed in August 2024.

However, Conygar managing director Chris Ware has now said he expects to see greater activity on the site in 2026 as discussions over future developments start to bear fruit.