Levelling Up in Leicester

Leicester City Council awarded over £45.5m

from Government’s Levelling Up Fund

Exciting news as Leicester, one of only three local authorities, secures Levelling Up funding. City Centre Director Sarah Harrison explains how it will support the city's economic recovery and help create hundreds of new jobs.

After bidding for a portion of the government’s Levelling Up Fund, Leicester City Council has been awarded £45.5m which will go towards three major projects across the city.

The Levelling Up Fund is granted to major capital projects designed for the long-term. Funds given out are to be used to create jobs, encourage new investment, and enable business growth.

Leicester City Council will be using the money towards the revamp of Leicester railway station (£17.6m); the transformation of the former factory buildings at Pilot House, King Street into new start-up units for creative businesses (£8.5m); and £19.4million for three plans in and around Pioneer Park and Exploration Drive, complementing The University of Leicester’s Space Park development.

ARTIST'S IMPRESSION OF ENTRANCE OF LEICESTER RAILWAY STATION

Leicester’s railway station revamp

An ambitious £22m scheme to remodel the station’s entrance and create a more attractive new gateway to the city centre have been given a major boost with the award of £17.6m of government funding.

The station would be effectively restored to its Victorian glory by forming a new entrance into Station Street, directly facing the city centre, and restoring the booking hall to its original size to create more space for train passengers.

The area immediately outside the new entrance will be remodelled with a ramp and steps leading to a large, newly glazed entrance to the main concourse. The building’s original Station Street façade will also be restored.

The covered entrance hall areas on London Road – known as a port cochère – would be transformed into an attractive new plaza for retail, food, and drinks, with the existing taxi ranks reallocated nearby on Station Street.

The railway station revamp has seen a first phase of regeneration in the area which, in the longer term, could help attract more private investment and new development in the area.

The proposals will be subject to planning permission, and detailed design and development work is now underway. It is expected that construction will begin in early 2023 and be completed by mid-2024.

ARTIST'S IMPRESSION OF FRONTAGE OF PILOT HOUSE ON KING STREET

Pilot House regeneration plans

The news of the £8.6m government funding – that’s 75% of the total budget required for the scheme – means that plans to refurbish the council-owned site in King Street into a hub for start-up and growing businesses can now go ahead, subject to planning permission.

It would be a permanent base for businesses of varying sizes, from graduate start-ups to established firms, and of varying types – including craft makers and design practices.

Under the council’s proposals, Pilot House would be sensitively transformed to provide a central courtyard and atrium for shared use, a business zone for technical and digital businesses, and a co-working lounge.

The five separate but interconnected buildings on site would be transformed into 60,000sq ft of high-quality accommodation that would support around 250 new jobs.

Pioneer Park economic recovery project

The £19.4m funding will enable two related projects in and around Pioneer Park and Exploration Drive on land near the National Space Centre. The area is already home to the innovative Dock workspaces for high-tech industries, and the first project would see two more Dock-style buildings as well as nine high-quality manufacturing spaces totalling 4,000 square metres.

An area of land at Pioneer Park would be redeveloped to complement the University of Leicester’s Science Park, providing an opportunity to deliver high-quality production facilities linked to space and satellite technologies.

The bid proposals also include a third element, transforming the vacant Ian Marlow Centre council depot site in nearby Blackbird Road into around 3,000 square metres of light industrial spaces to provide much-needed small units.

All projects are expected to be completed by spring 2024.

PIONEER PARK DOCK 1 AND 2 STREET VIEW

IMAGES: LEICESTER CITY COUNCIL