A historic Nottingham building could be saved from demolition after it received special status just before a decision was made on a student accommodation plan set to replace it. Developers had planned to demolish the former central police and fire station, which fronts Shakespeare Street, North Church Street and South Sherwood Street, and replace it with a more than 900-bed student scheme.
This was recommended for approval ahead of Nottingham City Council's planning committee on January 18. But now a sizable obstacle to the huge project has surfaced, with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport giving the 1930's building Grade-II listed status on the advice of Historic England, affording it greater protection under planning rules.
The report will be withdrawn from next week's planning committee meeting, Nottingham City Council has confirmed. When approached for comment, prospective developer Vita Group said it was "unable to comment at this time" on the news.
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The police and fire station buildings originally opened in the 1940s and were designed to be bomb-proof. The station was sold off after being declared financially unviable in 2013 by then Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping.
Ian Wells, of the Nottingham Civic Society, was delighted by the just-in-time granting of the special status. "It protects the buildings and will help them survive, we hope. There is still space to develop behind it and the building would convert, we just didn't want it to vanish for something that is out of scale for that area," Mr Wells said.
"I hope it will mean there will be an application now that includes the building, thinking of imaginative ways to actually keep it. It is very important to Nottingham City Council's carbon neutrality policy, with the re-use of the existing building being more sustainable.
"It also keeps with Michael Gove's call for buildings to be more beautiful. It's a building which is obviously popular with the people of Nottingham, there was an outcry when it was first mentioned - so it reflects the feelings of the people who live here."
A Historic England spokesperson said: “We are pleased that the former police headquarters and central fire station in Nottingham has been listed at Grade II by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the advice of Historic England.
"Built between 1938 and 1940 as combined headquarters for the police and fire departments, the building was designed in a restrained Art Deco style and is an ambitious example of interwar architecture. Its exterior design reflects its active role as a functioning police and fire station, but there are also subtle details within the building including striking Art-Deco doorways.
"Listing marks and celebrates this site’s special architectural and historic interest, and also brings it under the consideration of the planning system so it can be protected for the future.
"Historic England has already advised the City Council on plans for the redevelopment of this site, and is ready to advise various partners following the listing of the building at Grade II. The decision to list will bring clarity to next steps for this building.”
In order for the plan to progress now, an additional listed building application would have to be submitted to Nottingham City Council by the developers for the authority's consideration. They had already submitted a similar application regarding the 150-year-old cave network underneath the site, in which they proposed to drive through a piling column in order to support one of the new buildings.
A City Council spokesperson said: “We have been informed that the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has accepted Historic England’s recommendations that the former Central Police Station and Fire Station buildings should be given Grade II listed status. We will take stock of this decision before commenting.”
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