Member Article

Planning approved for Grade A office space in Nottingham’s new Southside area

Approval has been received for the next step in the regeneration of Nottingham’s up and coming ‘Southside’ area; with planning granted for a new Grade A office building.

The modern building, procured via the Scape National Built Environment Consultancy Services (BECS) framework, has been designed by Nottingham and Leicester-based Franklin Ellis Architects - a supply chain partner of Perfect Circle, the property, construction and infrastructure consultancy for the public sector. The scheme is being delivered for Nottingham City Council and will provide over 125,000 sq. ft. of working space for 1,150 employees across seven floors.

Titled Crocus Place, the development will transform a vacant site on the south east junction of Arkwright Street and Crocus Street, which was previously used as a base of operations for the construction of NET tram lines 2 and 3.

With a sustainable location in the heart of the city centre, the office design respects the building’s proximity to the historic Nottingham Station and reflects the recently approved contemporary Unity Square development, with proposals including a glass frontage facing the tram line and a more traditional design combination of brick with windows facing the historic route into the city along Arkwright Street.

The building will also include a café and meeting spaces on the ground floor and will provide a backdrop and animation to the current public space between the tram line and Arkwright Street. Crocus Place will use solar panels, air source heat pumps and electric car charging points to help minimise energy use and deliver strong sustainability credentials.

It is the latest proposal for Grade A office space in the planned regeneration of Nottingham’s Southside area by Nottingham City Council, along with Unity Square, Station Street and City Buildings; with construction now due to begin by the end of the year.

The office space is expected to open in Summer 2021 as other developments in the vicinity come to completion around the Southside site.

These exciting changes represent a new era for Nottingham; bringing thousands of jobs, millions more visitors and economic growth for the benefit of the entire city.

Jon Crabb, associate partner at Franklin Ellis Architects, said: “We’re very proud to be working alongside Nottingham City Council to help transform and rejuvenate the Southside area, and bring new Grade A office space to the city.

“Now that planning has been granted, construction is planned to commence later this year and it will be exciting to see the scheme progress.”

Councillor David Mellen, leader of Nottingham City Council, added: “This announcement ensures that the redevelopment of the Southside area of Nottingham continues apace, with plenty of activity in the area represented by the ever-increasing number of cranes in the sky in the area.

“Bringing top end, or Grade A, office space to the city has been a long-term ambition for the city which is now being realised by the hard work of our staff and partners to bring these developments forward. As a council we have laid out an ambitious redevelopment plan for the city to bring jobs, new businesses and economic growth to this city to benefit everyone living in Nottingham, and today marks another step towards that future.”

Mark Robinson, Scape Group chief executive, commented: “Our BECS framework has been designed to accelerate and optimise the provision of consultancy services and utilise the skills of local SMEs for exciting projects such as Crocus Place. Businesses want and need state of the art premises which are also future proofing the environment by harnessing sustainable energy generation. By employing the expertise within Franklin Ellis Architects, part of the Perfect Circle supply chain, Crocus Place will further position Nottingham city as a thriving business community.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Georgina .