East Midlands Mayor says she may look again at current plan for the Broad Marsh

Claire Ward, the newly elected mayor of the East Midlands Combined County Authority signs the mayoral declaration alongside Mark Rogers, the interim chief executive of the East Midlands Combined County Authority at Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire. Clair is wearing a black top and red jacket, whilst Mark is wearing a dark suit, white shirt and orange tie.
Claire Ward, the newly elected mayor of the East Midlands Combined County Authority signs the mayoral declaration alongside Mark Rogers, the interim chief executive of the East Midlands Combined County Authority at Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire. -Credit:Joseph Raynor/Nottingham Post


The new East Midlands Mayor says she and others may have to look again at the current plan for the Broad Marsh to understand why the project is not moving forward. Claire Ward, who won the East Midlands Mayor election on May 2 for Labour, also indicated that her powers may be limited when it comes to moving projects, such as Nottingham's former Debenhams site, forwards - saying she has to be "realistic."

Although work continues on the 'Green Heart' element of the Broad Marsh redevelopment, due to open later this year, the frame of half of the former shopping centre remains empty and covered up. Having been handed to Nottingham City Council after intu's collapse in 2020, the current vision is for the frame of the shopping centre to form part of the redevelopment.

A hotel would be built alongside hundreds of new homes, office space and retail space. Speaking about the Broad Marsh during her first official day in office as the first ever East Midlands Mayor, Claire Ward said: "One thing that was very clear to me talking to people right across the region is that you want a thriving local economy, you want to be able to arrive into the city and not be faced by what you see at the Broad Marsh.

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"It's a real challenge for people in that city, it's a challenge for people getting around it as well. It's important that we try to do what we can to support moving that project forward.

"We've got to start by understanding where the blockages are, what the problems are, what it really needs, whether the vision for it is right. We need to bring all the partners together and understand the main reason why it hasn't had the funding that is needed to be able to take it forward."

Ms Ward marked her first official day in office by signing a mayoral declaration at Bolsover Castle on Tuesday (May 7). In what one reporter joked was her 'King Charles moment', Ms Ward had to borrow a pen to sign her mayoral declaration when her own ran out.

Sites such as Bolsover Castle are key to the 'Visit East Midlands' campaign that Ms Ward wants to make a focal point of her initial four years in office. The campaign will aim to put the region on the map, boost tourism and encourage film studios to use Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire locations more often.

Ms Ward's husband and Mark Rogers, the interim chief executive of the East Midlands Combined County Authority, were among those attending the signing of the mayoral declaration. It was Mr Rogers who suggested in an interview with Nottinghamshire Live that the Broad Marsh may not be a priority for the East Midlands Mayor.

Mr Rogers said the mayor would be encouraged to think about funding developments which will benefit as many people across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire as possible. Ms Ward suggested that whilst directly intervening to fund the Broad Marsh may not happen, she would instead use her "convening powers" to bring developers and the council back around the table.

When asked whether she could do something similar to spark progress on Nottingham's former Debenhams building, Ms Ward said: "There's going to be lots of conversations taking place, I've got to be realistic about the capacity as we start to build the authority about what we can do. I think this is something where mayors across the country have shown that by bringing people together, they can start to unlock some of those challenges."

The new mayor also poured cold water on the idea that she would directly intervene to help Nottingham City Council's financial crisis, saying: "The whole point of this authority is to be able to bring more investment into the region and stimulate that growth, which I would hope would benefit all of our areas. What we can't have is simply just plugging the holes that the Government haven't filled in terms of funding for local councils, that's not the purpose of this authority."

In terms of her other priorities, Ms Ward said she will bring together a 'homelessness taskforce', though did not put a timeline on ending homelessness in the region. The Labour Mayor also wants to look at getting control of Arts Council England funding and look at how citizens assemblies could be incorporated into her administration.

Ms Ward, who will be based at the East Midlands Combined County Authority office in Chesterfield, takes office without knowing what her salary will be, something due to be decided by an independent panel. The Mayor added: "It's a very odd thing and nobody in any other part of life does this, it's the challenge of politics."