The outdated and bland section of Arnoid’s main shopping street could be torn down ‘imminently’ as plans to transform the town take a step forward.
Front Street in Arnold serves as one of the town’s main retail and shopping areas, starting near the town’s newer £4 million Arnold Market Place (AMP) building, completed in 2022, and meeting Coppice Road and Cross Street towards the north.
While the AMP end of the town has been left looking modern and refined, with the new building featuring a Post Office and independent businesses, just a short walk down Front Street will reveal the swathes of retail buildings beginning to look more tired.
When shoppers get as far as Coppice Road, they would have walked past a row of shops and former social club in the style of 1960s-1970s architecture.
Not only do the buildings look somewhat uninspiring, they appear rather soulless. The former Working Men’s Club has remained empty since 2015 and the units between it and the Blue Monkey pub are disused – one previously home to the popular Blue Circle chippy before it closed last year.
With its purchase of the former club and disused shops, Gedling Borough Council is seeking to breathe life into this section of the north end of the town by tearing the units down, under a wider revamp project that could lead to a new leisure centre, arts centre – including a theatre and cinema – and library being built.
The authority’s leader says the buildings could be knocked down ‘imminently’ after recently signing off on the demolition works. But the wider scheme is dependent on receiving external funding.
Council leader John Clarke (Lab) said the wider plans could “put a bit of pride back” into the area, adding: “I would think if we got the buildings down, got the funding, that work could start in the next year, but it’s down to funding.
“You’ve got to have a vision and change a very bland street into something very appealing, which I think we’ve already done with the Market Place.
“I know the East Midlands Mayor was very interested… I want something that gives Arnold a boost, people a boost.
“I want it to be a thriving, supporting town, working with the city, with our colleagues in the north. We’ve still got a fair amount of small business, if we can pull into a lively cultural centre, with a brand new swimming pool – a hell of a lot of footfall there – it could spin off and help other businesses.”
Shoppers also gave their thoughts on the regeneration plans.
Yvette Trumann has lived in Arnold for 21 years and says the town is not a place that is currently appealing.
She said: “There’s that many empty shops in Arnold now it’s not a place anymore that people think ‘oh I’ve got to go to Arnold because it’s lovely there’ – and it’s not.
“When I first moved here it was beautiful, you would never have seen all these weeds around here. It was clean, the shops here are awful now – there’s hardly anything here, it’s vape shops and Turkish barbers.”
Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “Arnold needs something. It’s already got the Bonington Theatre and the existing leisure centre.
“It could do with anything really to bring more people down. I suppose it’s quiet this end than the other end where they’ve done development on – I suppose an arts centre is better than empty shops.”
A woman called Georgina, 34, who is a manager at Chloe’s Café, said: “It’s a shame to see [the empty units], because we’re always talking about how local high streets are dying.
“But we’re putting rents up to unaffordable rates for small businesses. So the only ones who can survive are the big chain companies and the big chain companies don’t want to come to the little high streets because they don’t make enough money.
“You’d be better off lowering the rent, getting people in the shops and letting independent businesses flourish.”
The council’s ‘preferred’ option is to create a new open public square off Front Street, with a new leisure centre, arts venue, library and community garden off of it.
One alternative option, option A, would involve a new leisure centre, new arts centre, and new public square being built with the library retained and refurbished.
This option would also involve a dentist at the end of Front Street being kept.
Option B would include a new leisure centre and arts venue with a public square being set further back from Front Street and retain the existing library along with the dentist and the two retail units next to it.
While the authority cannot give a date of when demolition works will start, council officials say a contractor has been appointed. It said: “Once the demolition is complete, the council will progress a scheme of works to improve the appearance of the site.”
The works to regenerate the site would be completed in phases, where phase one would include the arts centre, including the theatre and phase two would include the leisure centre.
With the ambitious plan needing funding from outside organisations, the authority says it is being “actively promoted” to the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
According to the council, it hopes to receive £10 million worth of funding to go towards phase one and £30 million for phase two.
The LDRS asked EMCCA where it stood on helping fund the improvements to Arnold.
A spokesperson said: “We are committed to supporting partners across the region to deliver projects that bring real benefits to our communities.
“We are working closely with Gedling Borough Council to explore various opportunities to bring forward viable projects with support from regional funding streams.
“Arnold is an important town with strong potential. As plans develop, we will continue to engage with local partners to understand where future opportunities for EMCCA’s support may arise.”
