Residents and councillors have raised concerns over parking "chaos" after plans to build 36 new homes were given the go-ahead. The site in Lenton has been sitting vacant for around 10 years and while many have welcomed the plan to use the land, fears remain over the parking situation.
The homes will be situated between Harley Street, Willoughby Street and Mettham Street, north of Prospect Place, and constructed for the Nottingham Housing Association. The scheme was approved at a planning meeting on September 21, with six councillors voting for the plans and two abstaining.
The abstentions came due to concerns over parking. The proposal will result in a loss of roughly 50% of the current on-street car parking on Willoughby and Harley Streets, which will be detrimental to users of the Lenton Centre and Quakers swimming school, consultation comments said.
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Vizz Oppal, who has lived in the area all her life, said: "We were already struggling to get parking outside our homes. I think it is going to make it really congested. It will be good for Marhaba Supermarket which has just opened."
Qaisar Raja, the owner of the nearby Marhaba Supermarket, which opened just four weeks ago, added: "It would be good for the business, definitely, and Lenton is a very student-based area, so it would be good to see other families brought back in. But as long as there is reserve parking for them."
Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous, says: "I voted against it. It will be chaos."
Both councillor Sally Longford, who represents the Lenton and Wollaton West ward where the site is situated, and fellow Wollaton West councillor Cate Woodward, abstained from voting due to the aforementioned issues. However, the plans were carried as six others voted the plans through.
Speaking during the planning meeting at Loxley House, councillor Longford suggested some amendments to the scheme to increase the parking offer. She said: "I do welcome the redevelopment of this site, it has been derelict for a long time and been a source of lots of fly-tipping clearance and all that sort of stuff for many years, so it is in many ways really welcome.
"I am glad it is social housing and designed for families, which this area really needs to provide more balance, however, I am quite sympathetic to the needs of the Lenton Centre and the concerns about parking and I do wonder if there is something that can be done to help a bit?"
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