Plans for family homes on the banks of the River Trent have been given the green light – but there are fears parking could prove a problem.
Blueprint, which is part-owned by Nottingham City Council, had been looking to build 111 houses and apartments on land at Trent Basin, as part of the continued redevelopment of the area.
Plans have been revised to reduce the number of properties to 79, remove a proposed multi-storey parking facility, and shift the focus to family housing.
The previous scheme, first approved in 2023, was for a mix of 58 family houses and 52 maisonettes, but the developer has since changed it to a scheme comprised entirely of family-sized housing.
City councillors unanimously approved the proposals at a meeting on Wednesday (March 18).
Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis (Lab), a member of the planning committee, said: “It addresses one of the key issues in Nottingham, that is the fact that diversity in terms of housing units isn’t there.”
However, concerns over parking have been raised, particularly after the scheme was redesigned to remove a planned “car barn” – a parking facility for residents and visitors.
Cllr Kotsonis added: “There needs to be a way, realistically, to cater for the needs of parking for people living in the area.
“There are particular concerns about Mariner Street, which is not necessarily part of that development, but they already have existing parking concerns about spaces there. So how is this development going to address that?”
Planning officer Rob Percival said the idea of the Trent Basin area – in the Waterside Regeneration zone – was that it does not heavily accommodate cars, and parking would be incorporated outside the homes themselves.
Homes have already been built on one side of the basin, alongside a school.
The development of the area was first approved in 2023, with a decision issued in 2025 following delays due to the ongoing construction of the new Waterside Bridge.
Under the revised plans, Kilpin Way, which runs to the north of the basin and across the site, has also been “marginally realigned”.
Cllr Graham Chapman (Lab) asked what had become of the Waterside School.
The nearby Waterside School never opened as a mainstream school due to low demand; however, it has since opened for children living with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
In January last year, the Department for Education (DfE) withdrew funding for the school due to low pupil demand, and the Greenwood Academies Trust, which was set to run it, said it had reluctantly pulled out of the agreement.
The school was due to open with spaces for up to 210 pupils in September 2024.
Of the school’s future, Mr Percival added: “The reality is, going forward, once the area does expand and it becomes a much larger residential area, and you have more housing – as I said, this is a shift towards housing – so in terms of adaptability and its future use, decisions can be made in the education world as to how best that is used.”
The developer also said it cannot provide more than £1.4 million in financial contributions – made under what’s known as Section 106 arrangements – to reduce the scheme’s impact on the local area, because the development would not be financially viable if the cash was provided.
However, if work does not commence within two years, the council can ask for a new assessment.
Should construction costs reduce, this could mean the developer has to provide some contributions in the future.
