NOTTINGHAM Enterprise Zone is to receive a £25m worth of support to kick-start the redevelopment of the derelict parts of the Beeston site. The cash comes from a partnership of Government, Alliance Boots, the D2N2 local enterprise partnership and Nottingham City Council.
Management and construction consultant Gleeds worked with the D2N2 local enterprise partnership, providing advice on the level of initial investment required in order to unlock the development potential of the Enterprise Zone as well as cultivating mechanisms to bring together public and private sector partners as joint investors.
The resulting financial package has helped secure the economic development of the site for the long term and in the shorter term will fund the redevelopment of infrastructure, including land preparation and remediation activities, to help prepare it for commercial use. The programme will also include a number of public infrastructure works.
Stuart Senior, managing director of Gleeds Nottingham, said the investment is the first step in realising a “unique opportunity”.
Subject to continuing discussions on detailed specifications and necessary planning approvals, works will begin this year for completion at the end of 2014.
Elsewhere in Nottinghamshire, planning permission has been granted to restore and regenerate the Bentinck colliery waste disposal site.
Working with landowner Broomco, SLR Consulting prepared the planning application and EIA and helped produce a restoration master plan which includes an 18-hole golf course, football pitches, equestrian centre, camp site and office space. Renewable energy will be generated by two wind turbines.
The site was previously used for the disposal of waste created at the adjacent deep mine until its closure in 2000. A steep-sided landform with little vegetation was left behind. The new facilities will be set in landscaped grounds that will provide a range of habitats.
SLR project manager Adam Wilson said: “This was a challenging and interesting project to be involved with. The site is within the Nottinghamshire Green Belt and was also designated a local ecological nature conservation area as well as being located next to a SSSI.
“The topography and ground conditions, along with a constrained local road network, also produced a number of issues which needed to be overcome. We carried out a range of detailed technical assessments to consider the potential impacts of the planned development in terms of the landscape, ecology, road network, hydrology, air quality and cultural heritage of the area.”
It is anticipated the facilities will open during 2016.
