Bulwell residents have welcomed improvements to the town centre – but they say more must be done to protect it from vandalism.
The council’s deputy leader, who is also a Bulwell ward councillor, added that the town’s public toilets at the bus station – which will be entirely rebuilt under the regeneration scheme – will be free of charge.
Nottingham City Council successfully bid for £19.8m from the previous Government’s Levelling Up Fund to revamp the area and boost economic growth, and a consultation took place in 2022 to find out what residents wanted to see improved.
Changes will include a revamp of the Bulwell Bogs area to feature new planting, a splash park, a refreshments kiosk, toilets and changing facilities, an upgrade to the marketplace with improved stalls with better access to electrical power, and a refurbishment of the “wider public realm” with new paving, seating and planting.
The work will begin on Monday, October 20, and comes after a £900,000 refurbishment of the bus station in 2023.
The bus station toilets will be entirely rebuilt under the new scheme and modernised.
Kate French, who moved to Forest Fields from Ireland before moving to Bulwell two years ago, welcomed the improvements – but said she feared the new spaces could be vandalised.
The former Bulwell shop manager said: “The place does need something doing to it, but it is whether people are going to look after it.
“They did up the bus station and the flowers were trampled, and I remember seeing young people climbing on the bus shelters.
“I agree the play area in the Bogs needs improvements. Children need more adventurous things to do.
“With the market, with the way the world is now, unless people come for specifics, it isn’t what it used to be.”
Mother-of-two Danielle, who has lived in Bulwell all her life, added: “The playground area does look really nice. It can only be a good thing for the kids.
“If the market was more accessible and rents were better for people, it’d be more attractive, but more people are going online now.”
Another resident, who has lived in Bulwell for 30 years, welcomed the improvements to the public toilets and hoped the boost to the market would encourage more shoppers to use them.
Cllr Ethan Radford (Lab), the council’s deputy leader who represents Bulwell, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he hoped the improvements would lead to a boost for the market.
“It’s going to give the town a new lease of life and be a big breath of fresh air,” he said.
“It’ll bring tangible improvements and meet the needs of a new and emerging market, and you’ll have a bigger pull for the market, bringing more people in.
“Any level of improvement [to the market] is going to be a good thing. Rents are already below market rates and it is heavily subsidised already.
“Shopping habits have changed but if we are making it better, it will bring more people in.”
