East Midlands Development Corporation

What is the East Midlands Development Corporation?

The economy of Broxtowe could receive a major boost thanks to three major developments planned by the East Midlands Development Corporation - including the transformation of Chilwell and Toton. 

The planned closure of Chetwynd Barracks, scheduled for 2025, will create opportunities to reconnect parts of the area like never before, with an opportunity to protect existing heritage, create new cycle and walk ways as well as new green spaces.

Towns and communities across our borough, from Eastwood to Stapleford and Toton, would be able to access tens of thousands of jobs and apprenticeships, new homes, and significantly improved transport links. 

The developments, which cover an area larger than three Olympic Parks, will deliver 84,000 jobs, contribute £4.8bn a year to the East Midlands’ economy and create green spaces centred around Toton and Chilwell, Ratcliffe on Soar power station and East Midlands Airport.

They include:

• A ‘Garden of Innovation’ in Toton and Chetwynd in Nottinghamshire - a new sustainable community, providing homes, jobs and a National Skills Academy. 
• Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station would be transformed into an international centre for the development of zero carbon technology. The project has the backing of all the regions’ universities and the capacity to create up to 20,000 jobs.
• The creation of the UK’s first inland freeport at East Midlands Airport. Freeports are a special kind of port where normal tax and customs rules do not apply. This unique freeport, at the heart of the UK with unrivalled rail connectivity to all UK ports, would bring significant investment to develop and drive innovation, alternative energy sources and green technologies, creating new jobs in engineering and carbon zero technologies.

Broxtowe Borough Council is a key partner of the East Midlands Development Corporation, alongside other district, borough and county councils. We are helping fund the development of these life-changing plans to ensure it receives the £235m Government funding it needs to transform our borough for the future.

What are the benefits to Broxtowe?

The three huge projects we are planning will have a positive and wide-reaching impact on all our people, our places and our planet, with the long-lasting transformational impact that’s been seen in other parts of the country, like the Olympic Park in London and the Salford Quays development in the North West, which have truly transformed their boroughs and cities.

Quite simply, for Broxtowe residents this will mean more jobs, more houses and better transport.

• The planned closure of Chetwynd Army Barracks in Chilwell provides an opportunity to create green spaces and connect communities that have previously been separated by the historic barracks.
• Our proposal for a new ‘Garden of Innovation’ will preserve the area’s existing green spaces and heritage and create a new world-class zero-carbon sustainable community, providing 4,500 homes, stretching from Toton station to the barracks.
• This will also include a National Skills Academy, providing new training opportunities for people locally and regionally, also generating thousands of new ‘innovation hub’ jobs. This will be on the doorstep for people in Toton and Chilwell and just 15 minutes away for people in Eastwood.
• Critical to the success of this development is excellent, sustainable transport. Green spaces with cycle and walking paths will be re-imagined to connect the Borough like never before, enhancing the natural environment and making places like the Bennerley Viaduct, accessible once again.
• Better transport links to and from the Borough that will benefit all, thanks to major improvements of M1 Junction 25 and the A52, enabling speedier access around the country.
• The Nottingham Express Transit (NET) Tram route will be extended to connect with the planned Toton hub station with new innovative transport connections that transform accessibility locally and regionally.
• Protecting and enhancing the environment is at the heart of the EMDC’s approach and it is committed to protecting green spaces and our natural environment, investing in the development of green technologies and ensuring that all projects pave the way to a zero-carbon future, with the East Midlands at the forefront for the UK.
• And the benefits don’t end there. The people of Broxtowe will also benefit from the wider EMDC programme, including the International Centre for Zero Carbon being planned at Ratcliffe on Soar, which will create 20,000 skilled jobs and apprenticeships for people across the Borough.
• So, alongside the big developments in Beeston’s Town Square, improvements around Beeston railway station, as well as a proposed £25m bid to Government to regenerate Stapleford Town Centre, Broxtowe looks set to become one of the most desirable places to live in England.

More information can be found on the Midlands Development Corporation website (Opens in a new window) (Opens in a New Window) or view the East Midlands Development Corporation explainer video.