The construction of a planned block of 319 one- and two-bed apartments in Nottingham could finally get underway after East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward approved the developer’s application for a grant worth £7.2m.
The 1.6-acre proposed site, between Crocus Street, Arkwright Street and Meadows Way, has been vacant for years.
A number of different planning applications have been granted permission by Nottingham City Council for a variety of schemes, including a student accommodation block and a 12-storey block of flats.
Developers Cassidy Group Ltd, whose previous work in the city includes the York House student accommodation on Mansfield Road and Saffron Court between Queen’s Road and Crocus Street, commenced site clearance work on the Arkwright Street site in 2021.
However, changes in the student market, building regulations, and unforeseen construction costs meant that work never got underway.
The developers applied for funding from the East Midlands Combined Authority’s Brownfield Housing Fund at the start of this year.
The fund, announced in 2024, consists of money the authority was given by the government to support projects on land that has previously been developed but is now abandoned, derelict, or unused.
After presenting their case for why they need the funding, the application and site were “thoroughly assessed” and found to be viable.
Documentation states that Nottingham City Council’s need for more homes in the city centre is “key” to the scheme and that the 319 homes would “contribute to meeting the anticipated demand of projected housing requirements for the city”.
City Council leader Neghat Khan said she was “very supportive” of the approval of the application.
Final legal checks will now take place on the prospective award of the funding before any contracts are signed.
The plan, which was granted planning permission on 17 November last year by Nottingham City Council, is for 10 studio apartments, 221 one-bedroom apartments, and 88 two-bedroom apartments.
Construction work is set to be completed by Winvic Construction Ltd.
The land on which the development would be built lies around 100m from Nottingham train station, on the border of the Meadows suburb, opposite and in the shadow of the Unity Square HMRC building, near the Vat and Fiddle pub and the Foundry Gym.
Colin Wilde, managing director of Castle Rock Brewery, which owns the Vat and Fiddle, said that, economically, the suggestion that the land might finally be built on was “good news”.
He said: “Any sort of economic development that creates more people visiting and living in the area is good for trade. It makes sense. It can only be better than a piece of wasteland that’s had a fence around it for at least 10 years.
“It’s clearly good news for us in a situation where the hospitality industry has really been struggling because of changing structural demands from customers, legislation, red tape, the economic climate, and taxation, etc., that make life tough for us.
“The Vat and Fiddle will be ready to serve discerning customers, as our business has always been set up to do.”
On the other side of Meadows Way, there are a number of homes which overlook the site.
One resident, Karen Ward, said she had known the site to be empty since she moved in eight years ago.
She said of a potential development: “(My feelings) will depend on how high (the building) is. I’m not going to be looking forward to it because it’s going to block our light and our view. We can’t do much about it, though, can we?”
A spokesperson for the East Midlands Combined Authority said: “The East Midlands Combined County Authority has received an application to our Brownfield Housing Fund to kickstart the Arkwright Street, Nottingham project.
“The application is currently going through our rigorous checks before a decision can be made on whether the scheme will receive funding.”
A spokesperson for Cassidy Group Ltd said: “The development scheme at Arkwright Street, Nottingham boasts 319 luxury one- and two-bed apartments for sale.
“We have worked closely with Nottingham City Council and the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) to ensure the scheme was viable and a real benefit to the city’s growing housing needs.
“Subject to the approval of the grant funding, the scheme will be ready for occupation in early 2028, and units will be available for both private sale and rent.”
