Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, which together with its subsidiary, EMEC Ecology, helped shape the nature-first design for the award winning Green Heart is calling on people who live, work, study and visit the city to have their say as plans for future stages of the regeneration of the former Broad Marsh shopping centre reach a crucial stage.  

 Homes England, the owners of the site, are now consulting on next steps. After public backing helped secure the popular and award winning Green Heart as a focal point for the transformation, the Wildlife Trust wants people to restate the importance of nature as a key element of the transformation. The charity believes that by continuing to embrace the nature-first approach that inspired the Green Heart, Nottingham could set a benchmark for urban regeneration across the city, county and region and the deadline for consultation is looming. 

Speaking about the importance of people having their say, the Trust’s Head of Communications Erin McDaid said:  “The fact that Nottingham now has a natural greenspace full of flowers and wildlife where there was once part of a dilapidated shopping centre and busy road, demonstrates that nature can help unlock a once-in-a-generation transformation of our city. Nottingham City Council has come in for a lot of criticism in recent years but deserves real credit for embracing the nature-first approach to regeneration. With Homes England now consulting on plans, we can all help ensure nature is woven into future phases of the transformation and help create a new template for regeneration.” 

The Trust is urging people to take part in the consultation before the deadline of Sunday 18 January 2026 – highlighting that the creation of the award-winning Green Heart is evidence that having your say really counts.  

 The charity’s Broad Marsh Reimagined campaign, launched after plans to refurbish the shopping centre were scrapped by the former owners, garnered thousands of signatures. Other groups including Green Hustle, Nottingham Climate Assembly’s and the Nottingham Green Quarter project all called for nature to be at the heart of a new approach. These ideas were fed into the City Council’s consultation – with nature and green space topping the demands alongside calls for enhancing heritage and mixed-use development including housing and opportunities for small businesses.  

The natural green thread that ran through so much of the feedback was subsequently woven into the Broad Marsh Masterplan launched in May 2024. In March 2025 the site was bought by Homes England who will refine the plans and find a commercial developer.  

Erin added: “Whilst Homes England have embraced the Master Plan which takes cues from the Green Heart by incorporating additional natural greenspaces, street level planting, green walls, green roofs and planting on parts of the old Broad Marsh frame – we are keen to ensure that the strength of public feeling that led to the creation of the Green Heart and such a forward looking plan continue to come through loud and clear.  

“We have the Green Heart because people spoke up and the City Council listened. People are often cynical about whether consultation makes a difference, but we have a real example that it does – one where flowers bloom year-round and where insects such bees, butterflies and dragonflies now thrive.”  

The Trust is keen to ensure that nature is woven into future phases and that this approach becomes the norm, helping counter the Government’s out-dated and out of touch narrative that nature is a blocker of growth.