FIFTEEN years ago, the bleak windswept site was home to a pharmaceutical factory making Ibuprofen, tonnes of it.
Today, the land is at the centre of 100 idle, unproductive acres on the Boots site at Beeston.
But the open space may soon be home to a thriving new industry, creating with it new jobs.
It was confirmed yesterday that £25 million is to be spent on the first steps towards the creation of the Nottingham Enterprise Zone on the site.
Boots revealed that the multi-million-pound scheme, due to start next year, will kick-start development, jobs and, hopefully, a cluster of healthcare businesses.
The money comes from a partnership between Alliance Boots, the Government, the D2N2 local enterprise partnership and Nottingham City Council.
Work will be completed at the end 2014 and will include strengthening flood defences, cleaning the site and putting in new roads, telecommunications and IT infrastructure.
Stefano Pessina, executive chairman of Alliance Boots, said: "The Nottingham Enterprise Zone represents a unique opportunity to create a new innovation platform that will assist in the future development of the UK's health and beauty sector.
"As Alliance Boots continues to grow its international presence, Nottingham is, as always, extremely important to us.
"Our proposed investment in the Enterprise Zone illustrates our commitment to the region and the UK as a whole."
The creation of an Enterprise Zone at the site was announced in Nottingham last year by Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy, Nick Clegg. Enterprise Zones are designed to offer tax breaks on disused sites to encourage firms to move in and create jobs.
Completion of the site will coincide with lines two and three of the tram system coming into operation, while construction of the widened A453 should also be nearing completion.
Planning applications for the site will be submitted next year, with construction starting towards the end of 2013.
The improvements are expected to further strengthen the position of the site as a centre for innovation and product development in the health, beauty and wellness sector and help to attract new businesses to the Nottingham area. Boots owns a site of 280 acres of which 100 acres are surplus and form part of a larger employment zone embracing the Beeston Business Park, Nottingham Science Park and the MediPark alongside the Queen's Medical Centre, making up 116 acres.
On a freezing sunlit morning, the chief executive of Alliance Boots Health and Beauty, Alex Gourlay led a posse of council leaders, public-private sector officers and council officers to a photo opportunity on an empty brownfield site.
Alliance Boots said it was already open to conversations with potential occupiers.
"The group's vision is to create a UK centre for innovation in health beauty and wellness in Nottingham," it said.
"The site will offer a cost-effective, high-quality, centrally-located site for health and wellbeing businesses such as start-up firms and small and medium enterprises.
The whole enterprise could help create between 5,000 and 10,000 jobs.
Local Growth Minister Mark Prisk said the announcement showed the public and private sectors could work together to create a stronger future for UK business and local industry.
