Sites that hold the key to city regaining Queen of the Midlands crown

SIGNS THAT THREE MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS SURROUNDED BY UNCERTAINTY CAN FINALLY BEGIN TO MOVE FORWARD

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

ONCE the finances are sorted out, Nottingham’s leaders have their eyes set on something far more ambitious.

Among the pledges made by the city council’s current leadership when they were chosen back in May 2024 was a plan for Nottingham to regain its ‘Queen of the Midlands’ status.

It is a pledge which may have raised eyebrows among many given the turmoil that Nottingham and other core cities like it across the country have been through in recent years.

Yet the current leadership is intent on returning Nottingham to a growing and thriving city with a much more stable future - not least by working on plans to expand the current boundaries.

It will be a Herculean effort to get to that stage for many reasons, but the city will not be able to move forward without unblocking three major sites that have been a source of some uncertainty for years - the Guildhall, the City Ground and the Debenhams building.

Debenhams has been empty since May 2021, the Guildhall for much longer, and talks have been underway on the City Ground’s future for years.

Without wishing to jinx anything, though, it seems that 2025 is finally bringing a real sense of movement on these three crucial sites, particularly after the latest news about the sale of the City Ground’s freehold.

Could we even hope that we might see all three sites unblocked and moving forward before the year is out? Below is where we are on all three.

GUILDHALL AND CENTRAL POLICE AND FIRE STATION

The Guildhall site and neighbouring police and fire station have been the subject of stalled plans for a luxury hotel and student accommodation that have been on hold for years.