The avalanche of positive news was kick-started by HM Revenue and Customs announcing that they will relocate to the new Unity Square development in 2021, housing 4,000 workers, providing a catalyst for the Southern Gateway regeneration area which already has a number of major schemes underway, including the £58 million new hub for Nottingham College where work is already on site.
This was followed by the approval of plans for Imperial Tobacco’s former Horizon factory in Nottingham to be demolished and replaced with state of the art modern industrial space as part of a £60 million project to transform the site. The Henry Boot development, called New Horizon, will cover 28 acres and provide up to 500,000sq ft of new buildings, which could create more than 500 jobs.
We have also subsequently seen planning approved for the new library on the Broadmarsh car park site, which will add to the Southern Gateway regeneration, but also free up the previous library site on Angel Row for Grade A office.
Plans from Nottingham City Council for a new office building at Nottingham Science Park have also been given the green light further enhancing the award-winning Science Park which is home to some of Nottingham’s fast-growing technology companies.
It was also great to hear that around 80 jobs are set to be created by the University of Nottingham after plans to build a two-storey ‘world-leading’ research centre were approved. The Power Electronics, Machine and Control Centre (PEMC) will be the latest addition to the University of Nottingham Innovation Park at its Triumph Road.
Nottingham was also one of the UK cities selected by one mobile network operators as a location where 5G technology will be available from next year. 5G – or ‘fifth generation’ – technology means Nottingham’s visitors and residents will be able to download data much faster to their phones.