Decision due on £4m Leicester regeneration plans
Leicester’s city centre is set for a £4m boost, as the city council decides how to spend £10m of legacy funding from the government’s Growing Places Fund.
Under the proposals, around £1.3m would be spent improving shop fronts and public areas in the Lanes and Market Place areas, while a further £1.4m will be spent on land acquisitions for an office-led regeneration project on Midland Street.
A 200,000 sq ft office development is earmarked for the site, which is poised to be sold to Homes England for £1.2m.
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City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby will make a formal decision on the funding allocation on 18 August.
“We have made significant investment into the city centre in recent years, and this funding will allow us to do even more to make it an attractive and welcoming destination,” he said.
“It will boost the work that goes on every day to make it a place that residents can be proud of, and that visitors choose to return to time and again.”
The Growing Places Fund was managed by Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership until 2023, when its functions were merged into the city council at the request of central government.
Around £10.3m is left over from a Growing Places pot of £13.5m allocated to the LLEP in 2012, intended to stimulate economic growth, housing delivery and job creation in the area.
The plans include better lighting and signage at key arrival points, measures to tackle antisocial behaviour, improvements to public spaces, support for vacant shops, investment in events infrastructure and upgrades in the Market Place and Lanes area.
The full £4m spending proposals are:
- £300,000 for city centre gateways – better lighting, signage and public spaces to improve first impressions around locations such as the railway station, bus station and car parks.
- £250,000 for tackling antisocial behaviour hotspots – including improved lighting, security measures and graffiti removal.
- £200,000 to improve vacant premises – helping bring empty shop units back into use and improve the appearance of shopping streets.
- £200,000 for festivals and events infrastructure – supporting more activity in city centre spaces throughout the year.
- £1.3million for the Market Place and the Lanes – improving buildings, shopfronts, lighting and public spaces, and providing additional market stalls.
- £1.75million for future Midland Street regeneration – supporting plans for future commercial development in the area.
