The appointment moves the proposals for the whole site towards the submission of a planning application and closer to the start of construction. The Broad Marsh masterplan will help realise the bold vision for the site created with Heatherwick Studio following the Big Conversation, an extensive public consultation that attracted more than 3000 responses and 12,000 comments.

The practice will work with the Council on a deliverable plan and strategy to create an exemplar, sustainable development with social value, viability, and deliverability at its core.

At the centre of the Broad Marsh site will be a new ‘green heart’ public space, which will be the size of a football pitch. Other key elements of the vision include up to 1000 new homes; more than 6000 new jobs; 500,000 square feet of commercial and office space; retention of part of the old shopping centre’s structural frame to create an innovative new space; and rejuvenation of the city’s cave network.

BDP will work with the Council and Townshend Landscape Architects, which has already designed the Green Heart and submitted proposals for the transformation of Collin Street. The masterplan will tie in with work already undertaken in the Southside area, including the development of the new car park, bus station and central library, the new Nottingham College city hub, and major changes to surrounding streets. 

The masterplan will show how to transform the vitality and viability of the Broad Marsh and wider Southside region; create opportunities to live and work in the area; generate investment and employment for local businesses; and take into account Nottingham’s ambitions to be carbon neutral by 2028. BDP will also consider how the existing concrete frame could be retained. The masterplan will be used to underpin any bids for external funding, including the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

“We’ve made significant progress on reshaping this part of the city to make the most of this once-in-a-generation opportunity,” said City Council leader Cllr David Mellen. “The new Broad Marsh car park, bus station and central library, and the transformed streets around it have helped to create a modern, welcoming gateway to the city. We’ve demolished a large part of the former shopping centre and will start work later this year on turning part of that space into the Green Heart, which so many people have said they want to see in this area.”

He added: “I’m delighted that for the rest of the site we’ve appointed BDP, a renowned urban design firm, which will take the vision and turn it into a deliverable plan. This is a significant step towards seeing this site achieve its potential of becoming a destination in its own right and a driver of investment, jobs and growth for the whole city.”

BDP’s urban design director, David Rudlin, who produced the Government’s National Model Design Code, will oversee the Broad Marsh masterplanning process. He said: “Broad Marsh is perhaps the largest development site in the centre of a British city and is a huge opportunity to transform Nottingham. We’ll be working with the proposals developed by Thomas Heatherwick and analysing all views expressed by local people in the ‘Big Conversation’ to ensure that the plans become a reality.” 

Greg Nugent, who chaired the Greater Broad Marsh Advisory Group, said: “The progress Nottingham City Council has made over the last 18 months has been nothing short of transformative. This appointment is mission critical to turning the vision into a reality and I’m really excited David will lead the masterplanning.”