Date set for Leicester’s Market Place reopening

Leicester’s redeveloped Market Place will re-open for traders next year, two years after work on a £9m regeneration programme got under way.

Stall holders will return to a redeveloped square in April 2026, having been relocated to temporary facilities in Green Dragon Square during November 2023 while work was completed.

Speller Metcalfe were appointed to the Hickman and Smith-designed scheme as principle contractor in 2024, after the city council approved more than £9m of funding for a scheme to improve one of the city’s oldest trading spots, dating back to the 13th century.

Plans to rebuild the roofed market space were paused in late 2024 while the city council launched a consultation on an alternative scheme for the site, which it said would create a “significant event space” in the heart of the city.

City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, said: “We’ve worked closely with the traders throughout this major redevelopment of Leicester Market, so it was vital that their views were taken into account when planning their return to the market square.

“We offered the traders the option of moving back in December, as our aim was always to have them back on the square by the end of the year, but the results of the consultation were unanimous and they made their moving date preference very clear. As a result, we will now plan for Leicester Market to reopen on the new market square in April 2027, once the final phase of the redevelopment – Phase 3 – has been completed.

“That gives everyone certainty about the timescale and allows us to make sure that the move is properly planned, coordinated and supported.”