Team Nottingham Know That Market Will Drive Nottingham's Southside

Online, March 18, 2010 (Newswire.com) - "Southside will address a current shortage of high quality office stock and link the NG2 business park with the city centre," said Taylor. "It will diversify the city's economy and be a sustainable base for commercial activity going forward."

Hannah added: "The Southside project is an evolutionary process that has been given real impetus by the City Council's move to Loxley House. No-one is asking developers to come in and take a risk on a completely new site. There are existing, solid anchor tenants and we're seeing retail and leisure clients taking a real interest in moving in. There are obviously confidentiality agreements in place that stop me naming the people we're working with, but these are major firms that will certainly enhance the attractiveness of Southside to potential occupants."

One of Southside's key developers is Bildurn (Properties) Ltd. Managing Director Sean Akins confirms a general consensus amongst those closely involved: "Southside isn't your average development area, it's actively unfolding and certainly not just another regeneration project. Major occupiers are already resident, including Nottingham City Council, Capital One, Crytek and Shoosmiths. Unlike other business quarters Southside is here now and developing.

"It's an emerging business district with real potential, in the heart of a new transport hub, linking the tram network to high speed trains. Southside is also still growing in importance to Nottingham. It will soon be the main business district within the region. Southside is strategically located close to Eastcroft for green energy, and is focused on having sustainable buildings which will meet the essential Carbon Neutral requirements for 2017.

"It's a fantastic location for staff too. It's within walking distance of Nottingham city centre and its many and varied retail and leisure outlets - ideal for windfall clients like the Government who may want to relocate to the area."

The Southside business district currently includes NG2 and Loxley House, which will soon be joined by stunning projects such as Unity Square, The Sentinels and the Meadows Gateway.

Speaking about one of these prestigious developments Richard Mawdsley of Peel Holdings, another major player in the district's progress, concluded: "Peel Holdings have been successfully working with Nottingham City Council and Invest Nottingham to work up our plans for the Unity Square development. It is one of the 'catalyst' projects that are clustered around Nottingham Station that form, in their totality, the newly launched 'Southside' business district.

"This is visionary stuff as Southside is of national profile and seeks to create a new, genuinely sustainable office destination to rival those in other UK cities such as Brindley Place in Birmingham or Spinningfields in Manchester. Nottingham has all the attractive credentials, as a business destination, to rightly rival other UK Core Cities. It should, however, be doing better than it does in attracting 'out-migrators' from London and the South East including Government departments, green industries, bio-tech companies and back-office functions, due to what it can truly offer - a quantum and high calibre workers, good universities, great quality of life, competitive cost of accommodation, UK connectivity and a serious commitment to sustainability, including the most attractive tram system in the UK. These should all be putting Nottingham on the map.

"Southside, including Unity Square, encapsulate what 'future Nottingham' is all about and will keep Nottingham ahead of the pack. I'm sure the team will get these messages across during MIPIM and attract worldwide investment."