Prominent Lister Gate buildings still empty as talks with tenants continue

38 Lister Gate in Nottingham city centre.
-Credit: (Image: Joseph Raynor/Nottingham Post)


Prominent Lister Gate buildings remain empty months after Nottingham City Council said it was in talks to lease them. The council's Bridge Estate charity, which maintains Trent Bridge using the money it raises from letting out around 100 properties across Nottingham, first said it was in talks to rent out two Lister Gate buildings in December.

At the time, negotiations were ongoing - first the leasing of 38 Lister Gate, formerly occupied by WHSmith before it closed in 2021. The council also wants to lease 34 Lister Gate, but an update being presented at a meeting on Monday (June 24) shows that little progress has been made on the talks.

The 34 Lister Gate property is still being marketed by FHP as 'To Let' with the aim of securing a "short-term letting." The former WHSmith building, meanwhile, is described as being "under-offer for lease with a prospective tenant."

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Nottingham's high street was dented by Covid and the demise of the Broadmarsh shopping centre following owner Intu's collapse in 2020, with Lister Gate having paid a particularly heavy price. It comes after a Nottingham councillor said the "clock is ticking" for the redevelopment of Lister Gate's former M&S building, with permission for development soon set to expire.

Other buildings that the Bridge Estate charity wants to make progress on include the 'Castle House' offices at 24-30 Castle Gate, last occupied by the Nottingham Crime and Drugs Partnership's Adult Offender Team. The council says "heads of terms have been agreed with a prospective purchaser for disposal of the freehold interest."

Efforts are also ongoing to lease out the the Governor's House & Judges' Retiring Rooms on High Pavement, as well as the former Eon offices on Woolsthorpe Close. Nottingham City Homes' former depot on Vernon Road in Old Basford has also been put up for sale, whilst Robin Hood Energy's former offices on Chapel Bar are being marketed to let.