The Island Quarter was one of Nottingham’s most significant regeneration opportunities, but also one of its most complex. The site had been historically difficult to bring forward, and at a time when major regeneration schemes were moving slowly, The Conygar Investment Company PLC needed to build confidence that real progress was being made. Our role was to help create the name, messaging and website for the 40-acre site, before developing a communications strategy that could strengthen stakeholder trust, build political and civic relationships and support the project’s route through planning. 

From our long-standing relationships and ongoing monitoring of the temperature in the regional property development scene, we knew The Island Quarter needed a distinct place in Nottingham’s regeneration story. The site had long been seen locally as difficult, or even impossible, to develop, while Broad Marsh, another major city centre regeneration opportunity, was already taking much of the civic and media attention because of its council ownership and public profile. Our insight was that The Island Quarter could not simply compete for attention or attach itself too closely to a more complex neighbouring story - it needed to be positioned as a complementary but independent driver of Nottingham’s wider growth, with a clear narrative for local communities, civic leaders, investors, occupiers and the media. Over several years, we built close working relationships with the Conygar team, councillors and city council leaders, helping shape communications around the project’s long-term role in the city’s future.

We built a multi-channel communications programme that made The Island Quarter feel like a live, moving regeneration story rather than a distant development concept. During the pandemic, we delivered a virtual development launch and created collaborative videos with Nottingham City Council to maintain stakeholder confidence when in-person engagement was limited. A dedicated press campaign then illustrated the scale, ambition and civic importance of the site, while a consistent drumbeat of development news showed tangible progress over four years. This helped take the story from concept, to outline planning permission, to two completed phases, reinforcing The Island Quarter’s role in Nottingham’s wider regeneration journey. 

• Secured 350 press clippings across regional and national media  
• Delivered an audience reach of 60m and generated 128 backlinks to strengthen digital authority and search visibility  
• Built strategic relationships with politicians, city leaders and key organisations that resulted in two phases of the development being completed 
• Supported stakeholder engagement around outline planning permission  
• Created communications momentum through PR, social media, web content, webisodes and consultancy  
• Positioned The Island Quarter as a major regeneration story for Nottingham, not just a property development