Frustrated Nottingham residents have demanded a Nottingham eyesore be torn down after losing patience over its long-promised transformation. Dr Balvinder Mehat, who owns the derelict former Irwin Business Centre on Church Street in Basford, previously said its regeneration would finally start at the beginning of 2024, years after plans were approved for it to be turned into housing.
However, as 2024 begins, no visible progress has been made and the building’s near-apocalyptic appearance has only been worsened by a fire in January 2024. The business centre, which was never used after being built in 2008, has long been a concern for neighbours and local councillors.
Ben Clatworthy, 37, who has lived in the area for more than eight years, said he expected the building to be quickly filled when he first arrived. “When I first moved here I was thinking ‘when is that going to open’, but every year its just become more of an eyesore,” he said.
“It just looks so dangerous. You can see all the insulation coming out and all the windows falling off. Something has got to give at some point, the area needs a fresh start.
“It’s never looked worse – which is really saying something.” As well as last year’s fire, which added to the damage caused by vandals and a lack of maintenance over the past two decades, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service has recorded several rubbish fires at the site.
The hazardous building has also been frequently explored by bored children and been squatted in by rough sleepers, according to locals. Rob Pierce, 64, who has lived in Basford for decades, said the decaying structure had been left for so long that it had in his words “become a bit of a landmark”.
Mr Pierce, who was walking his dog in the shadow of the building, said: “It’s ridiculous that nothing has been done about it for so many years. It’s a shame because of its location it would have made a good hotel or something like that, but instead we’re getting to the point where it just needs to go.”
Referring to the children and homeless people who venture into the centre, Mr Pierce added: “I’m very surprised no one has been hurt.” His concerns were echoed by 51-year-old Richard Wright, who added his voice to the growing number of Basford residents calling for the centre’s demolition.
“It can’t be safe at all, there were homeless people in there at some point and it’s a wonder they didn’t get hurt. It really needs knocking down at this point. It’s so far gone that it probably needs levelling for a fresh start.
“I thought it would have been flattened years ago, but we haven’t been that lucky. The council should be doing all they can to step in, as it’s really bad for this area.
“It’s a waste of a good spot next to the tram, and when people get to the stop that’s the first thing they see. I wouldn’t blame people for not wanting to stay here if they saw that.”
Basford councillor Salma Mumtaz has called on the city council to take action to ensure the safety of the building and bring forward its development. Nottingham City Council was contacted for comment and confirmed a number of its teams had been involved with the structure, but could not respond more fully by the time of publication.
Although plans to convert the long-deserted centre into 24 apartments were given the go-ahead in 2020, these were not implemented within Nottingham City Council’s three-year time limit. Its owner Dr Mehat was contacted for comment, but he has opted not to speak on the unsightly structure’s future since late 2023.
In December that year he declined to confirm if a new plan would be submitted, despite this being needed to move the project forward, but claimed progress would be made “very early” in 2024. While Dr Mehat has not shed any light on whether a fresh planning application will be brought forward, Network Rail recently said it was still in talks over the long-awaited development.