I spent an hour in city centre's 'Green Heart'. I was pleasantly surprised

The Green Heart space that replaced the Broadmarsh centre
-Credit: (Image: Nottingham post)


The new Green Heart space is a haven of nature in the pedestrianised city centre, although, after spending a considerable amount of time watching the world go by there, I feel like something is missing from the newly opened public park.

While the trees and pond are a nice addition to the city centre, the looming half-demolished buildings do put a downer on the space. However, that doesn’t stop the scores of people coming to stop and enjoy their day. Families, pensioners and business people all stopped to eat some food picked up from the nearby shops.

For newcomers to the city, the walk from the train station was dismal, with a run-down, dilapidated old shopping centre and half-demolished buildings being some of the main features for the tourists to feast their eyes upon. It didn’t give Nottingham a good look.

However, the new green space did impress me with its contemporary feel and just the sheer amount of people who had come down to enjoy the space.

The crowds that the green space attracts are varied with busy shoppers passing through, businessmen absorbed by their phones and the occasional pensioner living in the moment watching the world go by as they enjoy their haul from Greggs. It's definitely an upgrade to the eyesore that was Intu’s Broadmarsh.

I grew up in Nottingham and, as a child, I always had a sense of dread when I thought about the Broadmarsh area, almost like it was a Mordor-esque area that was to be avoided, but since then I have grown up and seen that all it took was a £10 million investment to change my mind.

While the new space is lovely, and it offers a much-needed area of nature to the city centre, it does somewhat seem artificial as the views of the old Broadmarsh car park loom in the background like an ugly stain that just won’t wash out. Yet this will change soon (I hope) as the building is set to be demolished.

One visitor of the Green Heart, Kevin Hepworth, who lives in the city, said: “Thank God they got rid of the Broadmarsh. It was such an eyesore. I’m so glad there’s a little bit of green in Nottingham. You would think that we would have more, as green is our city's colour, but it's taken this long and quite a bit of money if I may add to get some trees in the town. I just wish they had done something sooner, rather than leaving the Broadmarsh to rot like they did.”

So it seems like the residents of Nottingham are finally enjoying the virtues of the council's hefty investment to one of the city centre’s most-trodden routes.

Yet some people don’t seem to be that happy with how much the council spent. Tadge Mc’laughlin, 75, originally from Dublin, has been living in the city for 20 years. He said: “I love this city but really, come on, how much money did they have to spend to actually make a change? It’s a tad expensive. Nonetheless, I am enjoying the sit down on these shiny new benches. I just hope no youths come and wreck the place.”

Initially, I had my doubts about spending an hour in the Green Heart but, in the end, I found it entertaining. It looked like something out of a picture-perfect advert for a few minutes as children played and pensioners talked about the nature around them. It had a sense of community that has long been absent from Nottingham city centre.