£12m Lace Market office scheme to go ahead
A controversial planning application for a new office block in Nottingham's historic Lace Market has been given the go-ahead.
The site, between High Pavement and Short Hill, was green-lighted after lengthy negotiations with the developers to protect the iconic view.
Plans include the renovation of two Grade II-listed former warehouses which have lain vacant for years and a Second World War bomb site.
Two additional Grade II-Listed buildings on High Pavement currently used as offices complete the development site.
The office block will create a total floor space of 102,730 sq ft from a mixture of renovation and refurbishment of the offices and warehouses. Proposals also include a basement car and cycle park.
Consultations and negotiations had been on-going for more than a year to resolve concerns about the height, scale, layout and detailed design of the proposed building.
Developers Studon Holdings were granted planning permission by Nottingham City Council's planning committee subject to a financial contribution of £38,675 towards improving integrated public transport for the area.
The total construction costs are estimated at £12m, with 113 full-time construction jobs to be created.
A further 319 full-time jobs are set to be generated once the new offices are completed.
Among the objectors to the proposals were English Heritage and Nottingham Civic Society.
The former said the new building would be out of character with the area and the loss of a cave would take away part of an "idiosyncratic element of Nottingham's historic environment".
The development has since been revised to retain the cave.
