Soar Island in Leicester's River Soar has been somewhat neglected over the years, but the introduction of cafe furniture in a new public square surrounded by exhibition space, offices and apartments could help it to rival a similar patch of land in Rome's River Tiber.
For many years, Soar Island has consisted mainly of some light industrial use in an otherwise under-utilised mix of woodland and open space, but its 2.15 acres hold great potential as part of the ongoing development of Leicester's Waterside area.
The island is already connected to the banks of the Soar, with bridges capable of carrying both pedestrians and vehicles, so the basic infrastructure is already in place to allow it to be developed.
Now Leicester City Council are running a competition to come up with a truly 21st century use for the land, and from an initial 80 entries, five of the best have been shortlisted for further consideration.
One of these, submitted by London architects drummond.lawlor, aims to replicate Rome's Tiber Island, by creating a public square with cafe furniture and art exhibitions 'spilling out' on to it from the surrounding buildings, all overlooked by a mixture of office space and apartments.
The other suggestions are arguably a little more outlandish - for example, London's Sarah Wigglesworth would like to see a 'secret island' with markets held on narrowboats, a floating swimming pool, and riverside homes with micro-farming facilities.
Ash Sakula, also based in London, called for a 'wild island' with a central treehouse and raised catwalks through the tops of the trees.
Spanish architects Gutierrez-Delafuente would like a more conventional mixed-use development that aims to encourage use of the riverside, with an area of woodland retained at the north of the island.
And finally, Kraft.Raum of Germany want the entire island given over to open public space, with viewing platforms to enjoy its surroundings and a kayak station to allow local residents to make more use of the river itself.
Enhanced proposals will now be considered ahead of the competition deadline on June 8th 2015, with an overall winner expected to be announced sometime during that week - and the future of Soar Island should then be known.