Plans for a £35m Nottingham Trent University building in the city centre have been approved despite a mixed reaction. The nine-storey block which was approved by the councillors will accommodate the School of Art and Design, Nottingham Trent University‘s (NTU).
The Nottingham Trent University building will lead to demolition of three 19th Century townhouses and the Nottingham Civic Society revealed it would “dwarf” two nearby Victorian listed structures. The proposed development would rise on the Shakespeare Street North and South Sherwood Street junction. Both Historic England and Nottingham Civic Society raised concerns about the impacts it will have on historic structures close by.They stated the work would spoil the character of the area and clash with Grade II listed buildings, with the former Registry Office on Shakespeare Street and the former Synagogue (University Hall) included.
Read also: SEGRO V-Park Grand Union plans underway.
New Nottingham Trent University building development concerns
Ian Wells from the Civic Society stated that the idea was a “huge intrusion into the setting of alot of listed buildings” and doesn’t “respect its neighbours”. “Universities are developing up new striking structures, but in terms of design a developments of such height is in quite the wrong place,” he added. “It stands within the context of a number of listed Victorian buildings and it will overshadow all of them. The city council’s planning committee vice chair, Councillor Graham Chapman, described the top of the scheme as “shouty” and looking like “a foghorn.The assumption is it is bringing harm but is offset by something else,” he added. “We should be aspiring for more than this – a building which doesn’t create harm and attracts jobs.”
Residents raised the concern from the Nottingham Trent University building’s height and effect it will have on the area, particularly those living in near the student housing. One described it as a “large, oppressive structure that would set a worrying precedent for future developments”.However Labour councillor Toby Neal disagreed and stated the plan showed “opportunity” while another added how the benefits by far outweighed the concerns.Eight out of fourteen councillors voted in favour of the application.
