Insider Media Limited

Tesco and land-owner Heathcote have submitted a reserved matters application to Nottingham City Council for a huge mixed-use development on the long-delayed Eastside site in the city. Tesco is looking to build a 122,526 sq ft store on the extended Island site, which has been the victim of the downturn in the property market over the last three years.

There will also be a 1,421 sq ft community centre as part of the scheme, as well as a six-storey 25,209 sq ft office block built around the site, with space for 755 parked cars.

Nottingham City Council granted outline planning permission for the extended Island site (where the scheme is planned) in 2008. Heathcote will now go back to the council with an application to amend the masterplan, the phasing plan and the design code, Insider understands, to ensure that these documents meet with the proposals for the Tesco site.

In a letter to Nottingham City Council, Robert Shrimplin of Martin Robeson Planning Practice in London, said: “It is envisaged that the council will be in a position to approve the amended masterplan, phasing plan, design code and arrangements in tandem with consideration and approval of the reserved matters application.”

The Nottingham office of King Sturge was appointed by Tesco to produce a review of the proposed scheme. In it, the commercial property agent said: “We consider the development of the superstore will overcome a number of site issues and constraints. This primarily will address the infrastructure costs. The supermarket will help enable Eastside to become a destination and a business location. There will be amenities on site, suited to occupier requirements.

“Tesco are likely to showcase the building and the Eastside; it would create amenities for now and for the future occupants at Eastside and it would create occupation and inward investment opportunities for subsequent phases help establishing it as a business address and a sustainable office location.”

Shrimplin added: “We look forward to engaging with officers with the view to ensuring that consideration of the application is progressed in a timely and construction manner in the anticipation that the applicants will soon be in a position to receive an approval which will then enable concrete steps to be taken towards commencing works on the site to facilitate the redevelopment of the site and deliver investment and employment opportunities to Nottingham.”

Tony Fletcher, corporate affairs manager for Tesco, told Insider: "It has generally been acknowledged that Nottingham would benefit from a large foodstore. Our view is that the Eastside Island site is a convenient, sustainable location in an area of the city that needs regeneration. Following the recent design competition we have worked with award winning architects Mangera Yvars to come up with what we consider to be an inspirational design for this important site.

"If approved our proposals would create hundreds of new jobs for local people, with a percentage of these jobs being reserved for long-term unemployed applicants, and serve to kick start development in the area."