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Eastside: Nottingham can't afford another tumbleweed moment

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THE Island site just outside Nottingham city centre isn't just an eyesore. It's an embarrassment.

The failure to make progress with a £900m redevelopment plan during a property boom sent out all the wrong signals about Nottingham's ability to attract major commercial investment.

Eastside was meant to be an architect-designed flagship commercial quarter which would extend the city centre. To this day, it's still dominated by overgrown land and a derelict warehouse.

Hindsight tells us three things. That the £900m project was probably over-ambitious, that its timing was wrong (the property market was struggling even in 2006), and that dreamy artist's impressions are a dangerous place to go unless you've got a deal in place.

Council chiefs have acknowledged that Nottingham didn't bat well during the boom. At a time when money was pouring into property, two of the city's key regeneration zones chalked up ducks. Waterside, which abuts the Trent opposite the City Ground, was meant to be a new riverside community. Beyond a privately-funded apartment complex for the wealthy, nothing was built. And the closest Eastside came to seeing bricks being laid was a rejected proposal for a Tesco supermarket.

Why did the boom pass Nottingham by? One reason might be that the political focus in the city council was dominated by gun crime, drink-related anti-social behaviour in the city centre, and serious under-achievement in schools.

These were big issues . While gun crime and binge drinking have largely been brought under control, the long slog of raising the game in city schools continues.

But Nottingham can't afford to let another boom pass by in the night. And there is an increasing realisation that many of the social problems that preoccupy councillors will be solved only by long-term economic growth. The news last week that the city council is considering taking Eastside away from its owners and driving development itself is recognition of that fact.

While politicians argue about recession, it is now history. As far as business is concerned, we are now into a new economic cycle, and in that phase when money is looking for attractive places to go.

Strong cities with growing economies are an obvious home and there is much that Nottingham can shout about. The Eastside site sits cheek by jowl with BioCity, one of the biggest concentrations of lifesciences business talent in the UK. There's also the prospect that a redeveloped Eastside might just reach out and touch Waterside, regenerating a vast swathe of the city.

Development is better tackled bit by bit. It's almost certain to take time, however frustrating that might be.

But neither Eastside nor Nottingham can afford another tumbleweed moment.

Eastside: Nottingham can't afford another tumbleweed moment


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