Bearing Fruit: We hear from Fruit Market, who are providing low-energy homes and community-first architecture in Sneinton Market

Until the early '90s Sneinton Market was a thriving open marketplace, packed with fruit and veg sellers, butchers, fishmongers and other traders. The avenues were a wholesale market that came alive in the early hours, servicing grocery shops around the region. These markets were hubs of the community where you could buy everything from seasonal strawberries to new laces for your shoes. It’s a grocery culture that still exists across Europe and markets are often a powerful draw for both locals and tourists alike. 

However, the rise of supermarkets in the '80s led to a decline in traditional markets across the UK. Shoppers preferred to drive to a supermarket rather than visit an open market several times a week. This change in culture and lack of investment led to market sites falling into disuse and becoming a regeneration problem for many councils. Leicester managed to maintain their market, and London’s Borough Market was reinvented as a specialist hub for artisan food producers, but many were removed completely.

Sneinton Market was profoundly affected by this change. The site fell into decline in the '90s when the wholesale market was relocated to an alternative area on the edge of the city. Much of the site was purchased by a large London-based developer whose regeneration plans failed to materialise. The unique 1930s buildings fell into disrepair and the location became a hot spot for antisocial behaviour. For over two decades, it was a mystery for many residents that the site was vacant for so long. 

Change began In the early 2000s when the grassroots art scene began setting up studios such as Thoresby Street and Backlit. This was a natural extension of Hockley which had already established itself as a hub for the arts and independent businesses since the late 80s. Finally, when the London developer who had failed to invest went out of business, the Council took control of the site and kickstarted the regeneration. In 2010, the council undertook a £6.8m regeneration of the Sneinton Market Square and a £9m rebuild of Victoria Leisure Centre. These new facilities scooped up a series of design awards and the new square hosted new markets and festivals and a community of skateboarders. Sneinton Market was alive again.

The 1930s Art Deco avenues were the next piece of the puzzle. The City Council was awarded £2.44m from the ERDF fund and contributed a further £1.4m. The European grant initially prohibited retailing from the site which resulted in slow initial uptake. While the regeneration may not have happened without European grant funding, it was the release from these restrictive conditions that has led to its success. For the current crop of food and drink producers - Stewart's Coffee Roasters, Luisa’s Vegan Chocolate, Neon Raptor Brewery and Breadmill Bakery, the mix of retail and production space is essential. Sneinton Market is a new kind of hybrid marketplace, a trend that is reflected in locations across the UK. 

The next chapter in Sneinton Market’s regeneration story is the introduction of forty low-energy townhouses known as ‘Fruit Market’ by local developer Blueprint. Investment in residential property over the last thirty years in Nottingham city centre has largely reflected a national trend of medium to high-rise apartments. It’s rare to find new houses being built in any city centre so Fruit Market presents a genuine alternative to the trends of the last thirty years. The area has always had a strong mix of housing that reflects a dynamic community, from private modern loft conversions in the old mill buildings, social housing and the iconic Victorian Promenade.

Fruit Market is designed by a local architecture practice Letts Wheeler who are sensitive to the heritage characteristics of the area and emphasises a low-energy approach. The external design of the new homes is modern without being at odds with the historic architecture. 

While the houses are designed around a low energy system that includes high specification windows, and air source heat pumps as an eco alternative to fossil fuel heating such as gas, perhaps the most innovative feature of the development is how they are set around a large central courtyard. Rather than gardens boxed in with 6ft fences and cars parked on the drive like a traditional development, Letts Wheeler and Blueprint have reimagined these uses of space to be more relevant to modern life. 

Each house has a small private garden for day-to-day use and a very large shared courtyard space that is planted with shrubs to create a green space in the centre. This can be used for large family gatherings or a safe space for children. Residents will have the benefit of an easy-to-manage private garden but the feeling of a much larger outdoor space. This communal space helps to facilitate neighbourliness and fosters a sense of community. Something as simple as reclaiming parking space to create a communal green space creates opportunities for increased biodiversity in the local area.

“The last few years of the pandemic highlighted the importance of community, particularly in big cities where people can become disconnected,” explains Blueprint’s Alec Hamlin. “Families are often living in different cities, but we will always need people around us for help and wellbeing. We feel the design of our Fruit Market development facilitates community, while still providing the privacy of a modern home.’ 

While this is an innovation for Nottingham this is a well-explored architectural approach. The 1960s modernist Span Housing in London and Surrey integrated houses with shared green space have become highly sought after. 

Building new low-energy homes in an area like Sneinton Market introduces high-quality housing into an area that has been dominated by lower value properties. New homes that are well-designed will attract long-term homeowners who are invested in the local area. Sneinton Market, through an organic approach to development, mixes the heritage with the modern, and green with the urban. Maybe it’s time we took a closer look at Sneinton Market to inspire the next series of regeneration projects across the city. 

fruitmarket.info

Please note, the event originally listed in the article and in print has passed, and will not be happening at The Bath Inn on 27 June.