Plans to extend a driving ban to make Hockley more pedestrian-friendly will start later this month to coincide with the Dot to Dot music festival which takes place across the May Bank Holiday weekend.
Currently, Broad Street, Heathcoat Street and Carlton Street have pedestrian-only access from 6pm to 6am, Monday to Friday.
Nottingham City Council has decided to extend this to include a lunchtime 12 to 2pm restriction during the week.
The three streets will also be closed to vehicles on weekends and on bank holidays from 12pm to 6am.
The changes will come into effect in time for the May Bank Holiday weekend which starts on Saturday, May 25, in time for when the Dot to Dot festival arrives in the city on Sunday, May 26, involving various artists performing across venues in the city centre.
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Councillor Jon Collins, leader of Nottingham City Council, said: “We plan to make the area a pedestrian zone at weekends and over lunchtime during the week when footfall is at its highest so people can enjoy visiting the shops, bars and restaurants without vehicles parked or driving down the street.
“What was really clear from the survey is that the people of Nottingham love Hockley, and are proud of the independent quirky vibe.
"We hope that by extending the pedestrian hours people visiting Hockley will be able to link better into the rest of the city centre via the already pedestrianised Pelham Street."
The existing restrictions were introduced in April 2017 which led to greater footfall in the area, particularly during last summer.
The current restrictions have proved popular with 89 percent of respondents to a council survey saying the measures had improved the area.
"The first ‘pedestrian-friendly weekend’ has been planned for May bank holiday – when Dot To Dot festival is in full swing so people can enjoy all the area has to offer," Councillor Collins added.
“We have been working with residents and businesses for some time to find the right balance between the practical needs of independent businesses and the greater footfall that will come when the area is more pedestrian-friendly. We believe that we now have a solution that will work.
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“The new traffic restrictions will be trialled over the summer in two phases under an experimental order, beginning with closures at the weekends and lunchtime during the week.
"If the closures are successful, we will move onto a second phase and seek to further extend the hours that the area is closed to vehicles so that it will be a pedestrian zone the majority of the time except for a daily delivery window 6am to 11am.
"We have now allocated funding to help support the transformation of the area, this will be used to address some of the concerns raised during the consultation process such as loading bays, cycle parking and traffic flows around East Street."
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