It’s early days yet, but the idea of a ferry on Nottingham’s River Trent is perhaps one of the most exciting potential ideas to transform our city that we’ve heard in a long time.
It may be many years, decades even, before it happens – and that’s if it does happen.
But it’s not an idea without legs (well, it is; it’s a boat, but you know what I mean).
The idea that a water bus could operate on the River Trent was first suggested publicly at a presentation by local East Midlands leaders at the UK Real Estate, Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiFF) in Leeds on May 20.
East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward and Rushcliffe Borough Council leader Neil Clarke spoke about plans to market the area surrounding the City Ground and the Trent Bridge cricket ground in Nottingham, and its surrounding areas, as the ‘Trent Sports District’.
It was suggested that part of this proposal could be the implementation of a ferry service – between Queen’s Drive Park & Ride, near Clifton, and Colwick Park & Ride, near Colwick – which would take people to the football ground and back, as well as to other stops, and possibly further up the Trent.
Nottingham Forest chairman Nick Randall, also speaking at the presentation in Leeds, said he thought the River Trent was “underutilised” by Nottingham and that it should be treated more like the River Thames in London – where tourist attractions such as the London Eye, business districts such as Canary Wharf, and residential areas are all accessible from, and built near, the water.
And local Nottingham architect Matthew Drewitt, speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, insists the ferry idea can only work – and is only worthwhile – if the whole area around the River Trent is developed more.
He said: “If Nottingham were to adopt a strong focus on the river and deliver proper districts, a system could absolutely work. There are many great cities around the world that have adopted their rivers as the key to unlock regeneration.
“However, a ferry cannot be thought of in isolation. They ultimately need a city and a wider vision to serve. The vision for Nottingham needs to be centred on its historic waterways, and critically the River Trent, which has immense potential to become a world-class destination.”
Globally, there are numerous cities which operate a water bus – but some in particular have used the introduction of river transport to catalyse regeneration along the waterside.
So what lessons can we learn from those who do it elsewhere?
Xi’an, China
Xi’an, a city in the centre of China, is built inside an historic city wall.
It was built in the 1300s to protect the city from attack, and features a moat running around its outer perimeter – which those who look after it have utilised in a modern way.
A fully self-driving, autonomous boat – with a driver, but one who doesn’t need to get involved unless there’s an issue – takes tourists around the wall, which is one of the area’s main tourist attractions.
Made from lightweight aluminium, the electric boats are solar powered, with snacks and tea offered on board, and tickets cost around £13.
“Having a broader context of what’s going on in the rest of the world, outside of Europe in particular, is fascinating,” said Mr Drewitt. “China is a very technologically advanced country. You can see the development and what’s potentially down the line for us in terms of technology.
“These boats are viable because they have that tourist attraction aspect of it. But there’s no reason in the future why I don’t think cities in the UK couldn’t look to adopt similar technology. But it all ties back to what is it servicing.”
Brisbane, Australia
Brisbane City Council operates a ferry service along the Brisbane River, with 22 stops across approximately 10 miles of water between Hamilton and the popular hipster neighbourhood, West End.
The city is built around the river, just like London, so a ferry makes sense, with the iconic South Bank area’s large parks, lagoon and shops, the city’s botanic gardens, and popular nightlife spots all located on the banks of the water, often under some of the stunning, impressive bridges that cross it.
Brisbane’s ferry service began operating in 1996, but in 2011, massive floods destroyed seven terminals.
These were all redesigned to withstand the worst floods possible and were finished in 2015.
Locals can hop on and off and combine a trip on the water with other modes of public transport, such as buses and trains, as part of their journeys.
What’s even better is that public transport in Queensland costs a flat fee of 50 cents per journey – equivalent to about 26p in the UK – and that includes all ferry journeys too.
Hamburg, Germany
Hamburg – the second largest city in Germany after Berlin – sits on the Elbe River, and ferries are often used by commuters, with 20 different stops along the route.
The city’s official website says that a whopping nine million passengers use the ferry every year, describing the option as “not only important for managing everyday urban traffic but also an inexpensive way to experience the port.”
Hamburg, notably, boasts HafenCity – dubbed “Europe’s largest inner-city urban development project”.
It is described as “a blueprint for the new European city on the waterfront”.
Designated in 2008, the area has been developed to feature hubs for shopping, dining and relaxing, as well as being home to tourist attractions such as the International Maritime Museum and the Elbphilharmonie concert hall.
There’s also an alternative way to take on the river in Hamburg that is worth a mention – the HafenCity Riverbus.
It’s an amphibious bus that looks like every other – but can drive straight into water and float on it.
New York City
New York City is known as the concrete jungle and is famous for its skyscrapers and infrastructure – but it’s also surrounded by water in the form of the Hudson River, the East River, the Upper Bay, the Lower Bay and the Long Island Sound, all of which lead to the Atlantic Ocean.
So it makes sense that water travel is a big part of life there.
Commuters need to get from New Jersey and Staten Island to work in Manhattan and can only get there by crossing the river; the other boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx are all now also interconnected via the NYC Ferry.
It offers maps and live status updates, just like the Tube in London or buses in other cities.
Sightseers can use this service, or opt for the New York Water Taxi, which stops at numerous famous tourist hotspots and can be hopped on and off throughout the day.
London, England
Closer to home, the UK’s capital has perhaps some of the most well-operated river taxi services worldwide.
The Thames Clipper service was founded in 1999, but it’s now better known as Uber Boat, after the taxi company came aboard in 2020.
Like with buses and tubes in London, you can tap on and off and use an Oyster card to pay for your journey.
In total, 23 boats make up the Uber Boat fleet, and they run between 24 stops, starting at Putney in the West and ending at Barking in the East.
Stops include Battersea Power Station, the London Eye, Westminster, Embankment, London Bridge, the Tower of London and Canary Wharf.
“When I was born, the Thames Clippers didn’t exist, and over a two-decade or so period, they’ve expanded from zero to 24 ferry terminals,” said Matthew Drewitt. “It started out in the east end with the regeneration of the docklands, Canary Wharf and Greenwich.”
What does Nottingham have?
Nottingham does already have a publicly-accessible boat in operation – the Nottingham Princess, courtesy of Princess River Cruises.
But it’s strictly a tourist and event boat and has to be booked in advance.
Currently, the edges of the River Trent – particularly the Victoria Embankment and footpaths running alongside the water – are popular with runners and walkers for their peaceful atmosphere and river views.
The Meadows Recreation Ground on the north side and similar green spaces on the south side are close by to the river too.
There are a number of pubs around the Trent Bridge area, such as the Waterside bar, as well as the stadiums and a number of residential apartment blocks in the vicinity.
And the Trent Basin area, further east past Lady Bay bridge, is currently in the process of being redeveloped from an old industrial estate into a residential area.
This area also benefits from the new, recently-opened Waterside Bridge – the first purpose-built crossing over the River Trent in the city since 1958 – and whose opening is perhaps evidence that there are strong ambitions to make the river a more focal point of life in Nottingham.
But for now, that’s all there is to offer.
Most workers are based in the city centre, as are most residents.
“Nottingham I think has something special in that it’s got a fantastic river which is severely neglected in my opinion,” said Matthew Drewitt. “Other than the City Ground and County Hall, there really isn’t much to attract people.
“I can’t think of many other grand pieces of architecture that people are going to swan to Nottingham to get on a river ferry to see. But that doesn’t mean that they won’t do in the future.
“We’d need high-density residential living all the way down the Trent mixed with cultural offers like parks, entertainment venues, sport and business districts. There’s loads of potential.
“I have a vision to see museums, galleries, and a cultural venue like the O2 or Co Op Live delivered near the City Ground. I want the entirety of the river from Holme Pierrepont to Attenborough to be littered with cultural, business, sport and residential offers.”
He suggested that Nottingham’s canal should also be further utilised in the way London’s Grand Union Canal and King’s Cross areas have been redeveloped from industrial wastelands.
He noted that apart from the recent, popular and successful innovation of Binks Yard and its surrounding area in Nottingham, there are “very little attractions” along the canal – even though the train station, and many other “dormant” sites, are right next to it.
“We need great urbanism,” added Mr Drewitt. “The legendary figures that delivered Paris, Barcelona and Bilbao knew that their visions would take many decades and even centuries to realise. That is something short-termism is entirely ignorant of.
“Barcelona didn’t have a beach, port or the Sagrada Familia in 1992 when the Olympics came. Putting it on the map has been a three-decade-long private-public partnership. I think regional cities in this country can learn a thing or two from that.
“We need to embrace the fact that many of us will not be around to see the true changes Nottingham needs. The great proverb ‘a society grows great when old people plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit’ is something we should all focus on strongly in my view.”
By Joseph Connolly (Local Democracy Reporter)
