Nottingham, all that money spent....
Discussion
....and yet it now looks like a run down s
thole.
When & how did this happen?
I have always liked Nottingham as a city, but I don't go there all that often these days. Went in on Sunday, for a walk around, a bit of lunch and to see the new arts centre.
My God! all that new development, all that investment and money spent, yet it's truly terrible. It looks dirty, like it did in the seventies. Lots of run down scruffy buildings, empty shops and buildings, appalling one way system, nowhere to park, they might just as well had signs up saying 'fk off, you're not welcome'. The new Market square is just crap. Broadmarsh is more like Belmarsh.
I have known that town since I was a nipper, I can honestly say, I have never seen it looking so bad. I know there is a recession on, and commerce has been hit quite badly, but even so.
It might still be OK for a few beers on a Fri/Sat, but apart from that I can see no reason to visit anymore.
I've never rated Derby much, it's nowt special, and not so long ago wouldn't even have made a comparison between the two. But Derby is so much nicer than Nottingham is now. IMO.
thole.When & how did this happen?
I have always liked Nottingham as a city, but I don't go there all that often these days. Went in on Sunday, for a walk around, a bit of lunch and to see the new arts centre.
My God! all that new development, all that investment and money spent, yet it's truly terrible. It looks dirty, like it did in the seventies. Lots of run down scruffy buildings, empty shops and buildings, appalling one way system, nowhere to park, they might just as well had signs up saying 'f
k off, you're not welcome'. The new Market square is just crap. Broadmarsh is more like Belmarsh.I have known that town since I was a nipper, I can honestly say, I have never seen it looking so bad. I know there is a recession on, and commerce has been hit quite badly, but even so.
It might still be OK for a few beers on a Fri/Sat, but apart from that I can see no reason to visit anymore.
I've never rated Derby much, it's nowt special, and not so long ago wouldn't even have made a comparison between the two. But Derby is so much nicer than Nottingham is now. IMO.
It's not ok for a few beers late at night imo. I went there after midnight on saturday and the groups of loudmouthed pissheads hanging around outside the bars made it a frightening place and the women, whilst tarted up were minging and just as loud! I certainly wouldn't take a date there.
Balmoral Green said:
....and yet it now looks like a run down sthole.
When & how did this happen?
I have always liked Nottingham as a city, but I don't go there all that often these days. Went in on Sunday, for a walk around, a bit of lunch and to see the new arts centre.
My God! all that new development, all that investment and money spent, yet it's truly terrible. It looks dirty, like it did in the seventies. Lots of run down scruffy buildings, empty shops and buildings, appalling one way system, nowhere to park, they might just as well had signs up saying 'fk off, you're not welcome'. The new Market square is just crap. Broadmarsh is more like Belmarsh.
I have known that town since I was a nipper, I can honestly say, I have never seen it looking so bad. I know there is a recession on, and commerce has been hit quite badly, but even so.
It might still be OK for a few beers on a Fri/Sat, but apart from that I can see no reason to visit anymore.
I've never rated Derby much, it's nowt special, and not so long ago wouldn't even have made a comparison between the two. But Derby is so much nicer than Nottingham is now. IMO.
I must agree with you in some respect BG, I am a Notts lass by birth but opting to live in Derbys (usually anyway LOL). THe Victoria shopping centre is looking very dated too and as you say Broadmarsh isn't worth visiting. I have regularly walked across the city on my trips to the Ice Centre and if you take a good look it needs some attention. They could have done something far more impressive with the Market Square. THe areas around there like Angel Row and Upper and Lower Parliament Street are almost like ghost town areas.thole.When & how did this happen?
I have always liked Nottingham as a city, but I don't go there all that often these days. Went in on Sunday, for a walk around, a bit of lunch and to see the new arts centre.
My God! all that new development, all that investment and money spent, yet it's truly terrible. It looks dirty, like it did in the seventies. Lots of run down scruffy buildings, empty shops and buildings, appalling one way system, nowhere to park, they might just as well had signs up saying 'f
k off, you're not welcome'. The new Market square is just crap. Broadmarsh is more like Belmarsh.I have known that town since I was a nipper, I can honestly say, I have never seen it looking so bad. I know there is a recession on, and commerce has been hit quite badly, but even so.
It might still be OK for a few beers on a Fri/Sat, but apart from that I can see no reason to visit anymore.
I've never rated Derby much, it's nowt special, and not so long ago wouldn't even have made a comparison between the two. But Derby is so much nicer than Nottingham is now. IMO.
Considering the legends and history attached to the city and its sporting prowess they really must try harder.
Sorry if this upsets some people but having an interest in both cities/counties i feel that i am entitled to comment.
Its not just the city either, try the county towns like Mansfield, if you dare!
These days Derby city gets my vote and of course you have all the lovely countryside surrounding it.
It isn't just the centre either.
Mansfield Road looks like you could be in Jo'burg and Canning Circus has gone to hell.
I used to walk myself silly going to various shops around the town, from the antique shops up towards Canning Circus to the furniture shops and restaurants around Hockley.
Have you tried driving in?
Cameras everywhere, and I can think of a couple which are 'strategically' placed to catch you out.
Parking is next to impossible and when you do find anywhere its stupidly expensive. Even using the Park & Ride has got very expensive considering its just a short bus ride.
Notts Council have steadily been eroding what used to be a nice(ish) city and I only go in when I have to these days. Although I do like what they've done with 'slab square'
Like you said BG, they seem to have done their very best to put people off visiting. They might as well have big signs on the main artery roads saying Feck Off, You're Not Welcome.
If it wasn't for the fact I get lost every time I visit, I think I too would go to Derby.
Mansfield Road looks like you could be in Jo'burg and Canning Circus has gone to hell.
I used to walk myself silly going to various shops around the town, from the antique shops up towards Canning Circus to the furniture shops and restaurants around Hockley.
Have you tried driving in?
Cameras everywhere, and I can think of a couple which are 'strategically' placed to catch you out.
Parking is next to impossible and when you do find anywhere its stupidly expensive. Even using the Park & Ride has got very expensive considering its just a short bus ride.
Notts Council have steadily been eroding what used to be a nice(ish) city and I only go in when I have to these days. Although I do like what they've done with 'slab square'
Like you said BG, they seem to have done their very best to put people off visiting. They might as well have big signs on the main artery roads saying Feck Off, You're Not Welcome.
If it wasn't for the fact I get lost every time I visit, I think I too would go to Derby.
I couldn't agree more with you BG. I lived there for twenty years and I have to say that I feel so much safer in London, well the part where I live. For the first time in fifteen years I don't expect to come home to a burgled house or vandalised car.
I stopped going out for drinks in Nottingham on a Friday or Saturday night about three or four years ago as the yob contingent was too much to bear. I have to agree that most of the women who come out of the woodwork on Friday night wear less than prostitutes and are proper scrubbers.
As for the place itself, it needs an injection of cash or the employment of town planners who have a clue. Hockley is grim as is Long Row. The Market square development falls short of the mark. the idea is there but it is just not followed through to a high enough standard. And the new art centre is a disgrace. The inside looks great from what I have seen on television but the exterior looks a building site. Nottingham has a great deal of potential and some fine architecture but it is looking very jaded. In truth the only part of Nottingham I miss is Bridlesmith Gate and High Pavement.
I miss Derbyshire very much. The scenery and roads are wonderful and difficult to rival. People from Derby are both friendly and down to earth. I always found Sadler Gate to be a sober and classy street and Bennetts on Irongate to be a treat to visit.
I stopped going out for drinks in Nottingham on a Friday or Saturday night about three or four years ago as the yob contingent was too much to bear. I have to agree that most of the women who come out of the woodwork on Friday night wear less than prostitutes and are proper scrubbers.
As for the place itself, it needs an injection of cash or the employment of town planners who have a clue. Hockley is grim as is Long Row. The Market square development falls short of the mark. the idea is there but it is just not followed through to a high enough standard. And the new art centre is a disgrace. The inside looks great from what I have seen on television but the exterior looks a building site. Nottingham has a great deal of potential and some fine architecture but it is looking very jaded. In truth the only part of Nottingham I miss is Bridlesmith Gate and High Pavement.
I miss Derbyshire very much. The scenery and roads are wonderful and difficult to rival. People from Derby are both friendly and down to earth. I always found Sadler Gate to be a sober and classy street and Bennetts on Irongate to be a treat to visit.
You think you lot are struggling, I have to work in the city centre everyday 
I go out for a quiet beverage most Friday evenings and some Saturdays and to be fair we usually try and escape before midnight. Some of the sights are eye-opening to say the least
In terms of driving the cameras everywhere are pretty painful but I've never had any issues with road rage, damage, theft or any problems trying to park up!
To be fair it isn't a spectacular place to be, but I've been to worse... erm... Doncaster for example
I go out for a quiet beverage most Friday evenings and some Saturdays and to be fair we usually try and escape before midnight. Some of the sights are eye-opening to say the least
In terms of driving the cameras everywhere are pretty painful but I've never had any issues with road rage, damage, theft or any problems trying to park up!
To be fair it isn't a spectacular place to be, but I've been to worse... erm... Doncaster for example
[quote=EmmaP]
I stopped going out for drinks in Nottingham on a Friday or Saturday night about three or four years ago as the yob contingent was too much to bear. I have to agree that most of the women who come out of the woodwork on Friday night wear less than prostitutes and are proper scrubbers.
/quote]
That exactly sums up what I saw on saturday. I won't go again. I wanted a quiet drink followed by a coffee or some chill out time. Everywhere was rowdy.
Oh, I saw the art gallery and also thought it was a building site!
I stopped going out for drinks in Nottingham on a Friday or Saturday night about three or four years ago as the yob contingent was too much to bear. I have to agree that most of the women who come out of the woodwork on Friday night wear less than prostitutes and are proper scrubbers.
/quote]
That exactly sums up what I saw on saturday. I won't go again. I wanted a quiet drink followed by a coffee or some chill out time. Everywhere was rowdy.
Oh, I saw the art gallery and also thought it was a building site!
Edited by Boosted LS1 on Monday 8th March 21:31
But I used to really like Nottingham, it was a nice place to visit and to wander around, maybe shopping, spending an afternoon taking in the museums and other heritage type sights, then drifting into evening for a drink and a meal. This was still the case maybe just three or four years ago?
I was shocked at how awful the place was on Sunday though, more than once I felt like I had gone back in time to the seventies, when I would go into town with my dad in the Moggy Thou butchers van on an abattoir run, and a lot of the slum areas were still there, and it was a typical run down seventies landscape. A bit like watching the re-runs of The Sweeney and The Professionals on ITV4, the backdrops are a fascinating glimpse into times past. It's like Nottingham has bought it all back again
It wasn't all bad though, I did like the arts centre, although it was much smaller than I was expecting. And I had a pint in the Bell, and there was live Jazz.
My main point though, is with all that money and investment, with all the new high tech buildings, the trams, and a huge amount of 21st century development, how in the hell have they managed to make it look like an archetypal nineteen seventies run down cityscape?
I was shocked at how awful the place was on Sunday though, more than once I felt like I had gone back in time to the seventies, when I would go into town with my dad in the Moggy Thou butchers van on an abattoir run, and a lot of the slum areas were still there, and it was a typical run down seventies landscape. A bit like watching the re-runs of The Sweeney and The Professionals on ITV4, the backdrops are a fascinating glimpse into times past. It's like Nottingham has bought it all back again
It wasn't all bad though, I did like the arts centre, although it was much smaller than I was expecting. And I had a pint in the Bell, and there was live Jazz.
My main point though, is with all that money and investment, with all the new high tech buildings, the trams, and a huge amount of 21st century development, how in the hell have they managed to make it look like an archetypal nineteen seventies run down cityscape?
Edited by Balmoral Green on Monday 8th March 22:09
I think it was great up until a year or so again. You don't realise it until you've been away a while. It struck me one Sunday afternoon before Christmas as I walked along Hockley into Sneinton. I felt quite vulnerable as I dodged the fighting drunks and drunks that had pissed themselves (and all before 4pm). It was indeed like stepping back into the seventies. I think the recession has hit some businesses hard. I would hazard a guess that there has been a mismanagement of funding in the council and an even spread has been lacking. Goose Gate was pretty filthy last time I visited. It was lovely twenty years ago.
I identify completely with those days you used to enjoy. It's just got a dirty and cheap feel to it now.
I identify completely with those days you used to enjoy. It's just got a dirty and cheap feel to it now.
I used to live just outside the city for years. Used to go drinking there most nights and shopping most weekends. I the end I just began to hate it more and more so moved out to the sticks 6 years back. We only ever go shopping there now when we really, really need to, around 2-3 times a year. I never go out there at night any more (although I've driven through it a few times recently).
The place could do with a good, all consuming fire - preferably on a Saturday night at around 11pm
The place could do with a good, all consuming fire - preferably on a Saturday night at around 11pm
YKB said:
I used to live just outside the city for years. Used to go drinking there most nights and shopping most weekends. I the end I just began to hate it more and more so moved out to the sticks 6 years back. We only ever go shopping there now when we really, really need to, around 2-3 times a year. I never go out there at night any more (although I've driven through it a few times recently).
The place could do with a good, all consuming fire - preferably on a Saturday night at around 11pm
I worked at Sytner for 12 years until last oct. didn't find it too threatening even when we were at st annes but when i have to go into Nottm now i hate the place.The place could do with a good, all consuming fire - preferably on a Saturday night at around 11pm
Only ever go in to do shopping like you Tony a few times a year.
Would sooner go to my local with friends and have a nice evening without having to use my fists !!!
Its dying on its *rse, no idea why though. Derby is racing ahead, look at the westfield centre, pride park, derby train station is all modern and clean, so much more classy, and much more classy bars, I used to drink in Nottingham for years, but its time has passed, it might soon have only one proper sized nightclub, astounding for a medium size city. More to the point, how the hell does Derby attract so much investment?, its like a miniature manchester/birm. There is no new building projects in Nottingham, no spark, no feel good factor, its so sad.....
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