Clues have emerged that suggest the long-awaited transformation of a demolished Nottingham factory could soon move forward. The large plot of land between Wilkinson Street near NET’s tram depot in Basford and the River Leen has been vacant for more than a decade, having previously been occupied by PZ Cussons’ soap factory.
The Manchester-based company, which makes healthcare products like Imperial Leather soap, demolished the large factory and in 2010 submitted a plan to build housing on the site. However, planning permission for this development expired in 2013, leaving the land to become overgrown – with the factory’s chimney the only structure left standing in 2025.
But there have been signs the area’s transformation is back on the table, with the land’s previously thick vegetation recently cleared and it being sold to a new owner. PZ Cussons told Nottinghamshire Live it had sold the land to Scotholme Works Regeneration Limited in May 2023.
According to Companies House, Scotholme Works Regeneration Limited is owned by Cilldara Group, a property development firm that recently took over the Beeston Fields golf club. Cilldara Group was contacted for comment on its plans for the site, but had not responded by time of publication.
Basford residents hoped the sale of the land and it being recently cleared meant new plans would soon be submitted. Rob Pierce, 64, said he remembered the old factory and believed that he had recently spotted people who were decontaminating the site.
“It’s a big old space. The factory has been gone for a long time now and it’s another one of those places in Basford where nothing has been happening for a while.”
“Well it needs something doing with it. We need new homes and this isn’t exactly greenbelt is it,” Basford pensioner Jim Beale said, looking at the cleared site. “It was all overgrown before and it looked like a jungle before it was cleared last summer.”
Wahid Ali, 41, thought the area’s convenient transport links would make any new homes attractive to buyers. He said: “I think this would be a good area for new homes, with the tram and car park. I think they could fit a lot of houses on there, I hope some of them are affordable though.”
Previously, in a 2018 report, Nottingham City Council said the land was well placed for future residents to use NET trams – being directly opposite Wilkinson Street tram and park and ride stop – and close to NCT bus stops on Radford Road. City officials said they would expect developers to consider the NET depot nearby when putting together plans for the land, as well as creating new improved walking and cycling links.
Back in 2018 the city council expected homes to be built on the land between 2025 and 2027. No planning application has yet been submitted for the land, so it may be unlikely that house building will start within this time period.
The old PZ Cussons factory was called Gerard’s Soap Works and for more than 120 years it was one of the area’s most important employers. The company was started in 1876 by brothers Thomas and William Gerrard, but only moved to the Wilkinson Street site after a disastrous fire destroyed its previous factory in 1921.
By 1970, the Basford factory had 470 employees, working five shifts. Three decades later, in March 2006, the Basford plant closed and production was moved to Thailand.