We’ve got the tram, we’ve got the bus and we’ve got the train – but Nottingham could welcome a whole new mode of public transport.
A water bus taking passengers up and down the River Trent is a real possibility – and discussions have been taking place among city and county bosses for years about how it could work.
At the annual UK Real Estate, Infrastructure and Investment Forum (UKREiiF) in Leeds at the end of last month, a panel of regional leaders presented plans to unite and connect sporting venues near the river as part of the newly-branded ‘Trent Sports District’.
And it was during that discussion, in front of businesses and investors, that Rushcliffe Borough Council leader Neil Clarke revealed the panel was open to conversations and proposals for public transport on the water.
“One of the challenges that we have (in the Trent Sports District) is traffic, and one of the possible solutions to that is using the river,” he said.
“Think big – a water bus with a park and ride to take some of the traffic away.
“Nottingham is expanding, generally, the whole conurbation. I think there could be an opportunity. So all you multimillionaires in the audience who want an investment opportunity – there it is.”
Leeds – where the forum took place – has its own water taxi service, allowing passengers to get between Granary Wharf and Leeds Dock via the River Aire in 12 minutes.
Early suggestions are that, in Nottingham, the boat would run between the existing Queens Drive Park & Ride site, at Clifton Bridge, and the Colwick Racecourse Park & Ride site about three and a half miles east down the river.
Both are currently in operation for people to park their cars and get on the bus, with the latter at Colwick already serving as a dock for boats, including a tourist ferry which travels along the Trent run by Princess River Cruises.
Rushcliffe leader Neil Clarke (Con) said that the idea was first “floated” two or three years ago.
“It’s an idea,” he said. “We talk about it. I think it’s realistic – but nobody’s discussed it in detail. It’s only purely a high level idea (at this point). There are certainly no specific plans because it requires very deep pockets and it would require an operator or an investor with an awful lot of money to invest in and set up the infrastructure.
“(But) I say think big because if people don’t have these big ideas to have extra investment then nothing will ever happen. Traffic congestion is an issue and we need to employ other means of public transport – whether that’s buses on the road or on the water.
“We’ve got to find somebody who’s prepared to invest multimillions, to grab it and do something with it. Of course you’ve got to have the customers to use it. So it’s a question of developing all the stops to connect the watersports centre [at Holme Pierrepont Country Park], go all the way up to Clifton Bridge and stop in the various places. But that would be brilliant.”
Before it could become a reality, years of research and planning would need to take place – including gauging whether sports fans would use it, through lengthy surveys and data gathering.
Nottingham City Council leader Neghat Khan hinted that sometimes such “stuff that happens in the back office that people will say is boring” is happening behind the scenes.
And, referencing Leeds’ water taxi, she said: “Why can’t we have something like that? It’s not always about reinventing the wheel – it’s about learning from other places.
“Let’s get those conversations going. We don’t do it alone. It’s partnership working with everyone and actually getting that input. I think it’s exciting.”
Could a water bus also alleviate some of the parking issues suffered by West Bridgford residents on days when Nottingham Forest have a home game at the City Ground?
Rushcliffe Labour Councillor Penny Gowland, who recently started a new petition demanding action immediately to tackle the long-running issue, thinks it could.
She said: “I think it’s a good idea. I think it would be really good for the city broadly in the broader sense to have this sort of thing happening which is a nice different thing about Nottingham.
“We have a strange relationship with our river because we’re not around it. So I think it would be good.”
Story by Joseph Connolly (Local Democracy Reporter)
