Nottingham City Council has announced plans for the £10.5m fit-out of the city’s new Central Library and for it to be ready to open to the public next summer. The development is part of the building that houses the new Broad Marsh Car Park and Bus Station and is one of the key elements of the regeneration of the city’s Southside area. A report to the council’s Executive Board on May 24 outlines that a number of assessments of the design and affordability of the scheme have been carried out and recommends that the council now begins the internal fit-out of the library from July. Careful management of the city’s property portfolio and successful sales have made the development affordable from within the Council’s capital programme. The new library, spread over three floors and fully accessible via lifts, will feature a high-quality children’s library with an immersive story telling room, extensive book collection and comfortable areas to sit and read. Other amenities will include:

• Feature book walls and shelving to display a large collection of books
• Free wi-fi and free access to computers, laptops and iPads
• A café & ground floor reception area which can be converted into a performance space
• Specialist and rare collections room for local study material
• Learning lab for special activities and school class visits
• Meeting rooms
• Exhibition space
• Creative design areas
• Business Intellectual Property Centre for the city.

The provision of the new Central Library has been considered as part of a thorough Libraries Needs Assessment commissioned by the council, which has been subject to extensive public consultation to help better understand what communities require from a modern library service. Feedback during consultation showed that the Central Library played an important role in delivering part of the city’s overall offer, with over 60% of respondents in the first phase saying this was often the library they visited, in addition to using their own local neighbourhood one. The Central Library’s depth of stock and specialist collections is seen as a fundamental part in fulfilling the city’s Library Strategy and a key link to ensuring and supporting community library delivery and development. The new library building is surrounded by transformed streets, with extensive pedestrianisation, planting and seating offering pleasant places to walk, cycle and relax. Similar work is also planned for Collin Street alongside the new library to become fully pedestrianised, with a new plaza planned to link through the demolished section of the former shopping centre to Lister Gate and the city centre beyond. A masterplan is in place outlining a vision for the Broad Marsh site, including green space, an enhanced entrance to the City of Caves attraction and a mixture of housing, retail and leisure uses. City Council leader, Councillor David Mellen, said: “If approved, Nottingham’s new Central Library will be a key element of the regeneration of this part of the city which is well underway, and I’m pleased we are able to announce our plans for its fit-out. I’m really excited to recommend to our Executive that this great new facility should start which would provide a modern Central Library including a fantastic children’s library. “From next summer when it is scheduled to open, we expect more people to be attracted to the area, which has been undergoing a transformation for a number of years. Along with the new college at one end of Collin Street and the revitalised castle offer at the other, the library would help to breathe new life into the area with its reimagined pedestrian-friendly streets and public spaces, new car park, bus station and shops and heritage-led improvements. “The area will change further still when the vision for the former shopping centre site can begin to be put into action, further enhancing Broad Marsh as a great gateway to the city.” Portfolio holder for leisure, culture & planning, Cllr Pavlos Kotsonis, said: “It’s exciting to see the designs for the modern Central Library. If the proposal is approved it will create a wonderful facility for all residents and visitors, but perhaps especially children who will be able to enjoy a fantastic collection of books, an immersive audio-visual story telling room and plenty of spaces to enjoy reading and take part in fun activities. “While it was of course really important for us to carry out assessments of the scheme’s design and affordability, I understand that people are frustrated by the delay and eager to get the new facility opened – something that came across very clearly in the consultation.” The sale of the former Central Library building at Angel Row also continues, with a planning application for its new use expected to be submitted next month.

A new go-to destination for food and drink producers to manufacture and sell their artisan products has been unveiled in the Rural Capital of Food, with the launch of the Stockyard in Melton Mowbray. Situated at Melton Mowbray Market, the Stockyard offers producers a unique space in which to manufacture and sell their food and drink in the heart of the Rural Capital of Food. The agri-chic environment – which for decades has hosted markets and other events – has long been a destination for food lovers. Now part of it has been given a new identity and new investment to attract more artisan manufacturers and traders to the site and build on the heritage of the market…opening the next chapter in its history. Hugh Brown, CEO of Gillstream Markets Ltd, which operates the site, said: “I am delighted to launch the Stockyard, recognising Melton Mowbray’s heritage and future as a key food and drink manufacturing centre and a destination for food and drink lovers nationwide. “We already have a number of artisan food and drink manufacturers and retailers on site, but there is tremendous scope at the Stockyard to create an eclectic mix of producers in this unique agri-chic environment. It provides the perfect opportunity for new and expanding enterprises to have a place in the heart of the Rural Capital of Food and we look forward to additional food and drink businesses joining us over the coming months.” Already on site at the Stockyard are a growing number of artisan food and drink manufacturers and retailers including the multi award-winning Round Corner Brewing, the Melton Premium Craft Distillers, and Simply Chocolate, alongside butchers, bakers and pork pie makers. Smoked food specialist Feast and the Furious will also be relocating to the site during 2022. Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire is the home of the pork pie and Stilton cheese. And for hundreds of years, Melton Mowbray Market in its various guises has played a key role in the ‘farm to fork’ story. Today it has markets on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, plus many special events and festivals. These strong foundations have been built on to create the Stockyard, as one part of Melton Mowbray’s food and drink experience. It is further bolstered by the weekly street markets, the Rural Catering Centre at SMB College and the many artisan and historic food producers in and around the town that have contributed to the town being named the Rural Capital of Food. Stockyard Melton Mowbray, working in conjunction with Melton Borough Council, is part of the wider Food Enterprise Centre in the borough, building on the rich food heritage of the local area. Now, with an increasing number of people interested in local food and the provenance of their food and drink, the Stockyard is offering the opportunity for producers to take space in the agri-chic surroundings of the Melton Mowbray Market site. “The Stockyard hosts a range of markets alongside exciting and interesting events, including food and beer festivals, weddings, conferences and the like,” explained Hugh Brown. “The Stockyard encompasses many of the existing values and heritage of the site, retaining close links to our local farmers and our weekly livestock sales. There really is nowhere more ‘farm to fork’ and helps to provide a unique market atmosphere, while establishing the Stockyard in its own right.” The Stockyard is the new brand for the southern part of Melton Mowbray Market, which is the largest town centre livestock market in the country. The Market predates the Domesday Book and moved from its various locations in the central streets of town to its current site in 1869 as part of the Melton Mowbray Cattle Market Act. As standards continued to rise through the 20^th Century, the livestock moved into modern purpose-built sheds and the older buildings were repurposed for weekly markets and events. It’s some of these buildings which have been converted into spaces for food and drink businesses. The former chicken shed is now the Fur & Feather bar, adjoining the distillery operated by Melton Premium Craft Distillers which makes Brentingby Gin, while opposite is the brewery and taproom for Round Corner Brewing. Combie Cryan, co-founder of Round Corner Brewing, said: “We are delighted to be an anchor tenant of the Stockyard. In the four years since our opening, we have played a key role in raising the profile of the market and drawing weekend visitors. We have created the perfect place for our brewery and taproom and, alongside our many amazing neighbours, we are looking forward to playing a key role in the future of this exciting newly branded Stockyard, which builds on the history of Melton Mowbray’s long links to agriculture and the food and drink sector.” Jon Oakes, of smoked food specialist Feast and the Furious, said: “We are really excited to be locating our new smokehouse down at the Stockyard amongst some really passionate award winning food and drink businesses such as Round Corner and Brentingby Gin (Fur & Feather Bar). “We are looking forward to enhancing the great food and drink offering at the Stockyard and can’t wait to help create an exciting destination for people near and far to visit for a food and drink experience. “We will be expanding our current offering of cold and hot smoked products with new, bigger smokers, bringing out new products whilst also allowing us to be able to get back to our roots of our hot smoked food (such as smoked beef brisket and pulled pork etc) that we served from our food truck down at the Stockyard on many occasions in the past. “We are looking to open a shop area to sell a range of our cold smoked products and eventually even have a seating area for people to enjoy our hot food offering too.” In collaboration with the Melton Mowbray Food Partnership, Stockyard aims to be home to a growing number of innovative and award-winning independent producers. Hugh Brown added: “Many industrial buildings have been imaginatively repurposed to create interesting spaces but what we have done at the Stockyard is repurpose buildings with an agricultural heritage to give them a new role in the future of the food and drink sector. Here, production is visible and proud. Producers can demonstrate their trade and expertise and customers can see what they are buying. We’re excited for the future of the Stockyard and are looking forward to welcoming more artisan manufacturers to our unique site.”

European shoe retailer Deichmann opened the doors of a new warehouse at Centrix Business Park on Phoenix Parkway in Corby earlier this month. The new warehouse is around 165,000 square foot in size, making it larger than Trafalgar Square in London. The new warehouse will create 50 new jobs in the region and support Deichmann’s ongoing growth by improving service levels across the business, as well as giving the brand full autonomy to manage its inventory and logistics. Samuel Deichmann, executive board member at Deichmann SE and chairman of the board of directors at Deichmann-UK Shoes Limited, said: “We are thrilled to open our brand new Corby warehouse. Deichmann is experiencing strong success both in our online growth and expansion of UK stores, the new warehouse will allow us to enhance our service and ensure we can keep pace.” The company chose Corby as the site for the brand’s new UK distribution facility as a central location to the network of 120 UK stores and its proximity to the Deichmann head office, which is located in nearby Market Harborough. The former brownfield site, owned and developed by Clowes Developments, provides the ideal home for the footwear retailer. Clowes Developments managed the development of the site which has been built on a former quarry which was later used as landfill for the steelworks. The land has been vacant since tipping on the site ended. Planning conditions meant the developers had to properly manage the heavily contaminated land by adhering to strict conditions to ensure it was safe to build on. Deichmann have invested around £3 million into the facility, which took just under a year to complete and has the capacity to hold just over one million pairs of shoes. The building construction was led by Winvic Construction, the industrial ‘shed’ specialist.

Bassetlaw District Council has revealed an “inspirational plan” to transform the Wimpy Estate in Carlton-in-Lindrick. An initial two-phase approach to build new council houses and create an informal play space with landscaping is being presented to residents as part of a six-week consultation on the Carlton Wimpy Masterplan. The consultation, which was launched on Friday 13 May, will also gather the views of residents on topics including opportunities to improve movement around the estate, address anti-social behaviour issues and increase parking, among other ideas. The Masterplan has been developed in response to concerns and issues raised by residents about the estate over a number of years and will act as a catalyst for improving the appearance of the estate and quality of life for residents living there. Cllr Steve Scotthorne, cabinet member for housing at Bassetlaw District Council, said: “We have listened to residents’ concerns over time and as a result of these discussions have developed the initial phases of the Masterplan. “This is an ambitious project that will transform the estate, address many of the issues that have been raised and make this part of Carlton a more pleasant and appealing area to live in. “To make this project a success, we need residents to tell us what they think of the plans, put forward their priorities and be a central part of the project from the outset.” Funding of around £3m has been made available for the first two phases of the Masterplan and consultation will initially take place on Phases 1 and 2 of the project which, if successful, could lead to more ambitious proposals. Proposals as part of Phases 1 and 2 of the Masterplan include:

• Demolishing the underused community centre and building new homes

• Redeveloping some of the existing open spaces, including the paved area off Willow Avenue.

• Creating a new informal play area and introducing softer landscaping at the heart of the estate.
• There is also the potential to create start up units for local business, retail opportunities, or new community facilities.

Following the consultation, all responses will be considered and will inform the next stages of the Masterplan, which could include a planning application being developed.