Leicester city centre will soon see the regeneration of Market Place South, which provides a connected, safe and pedestrian-friendly city centre.
Exciting visuals have been unveiled, giving us a glimpse into the future of Leicester’s city centre. The proposed redevelopment will transform the area, with plans for a vibrant shopping district to take the place of two existing buildings on Cank Street. Leicester City Council gave the green light to this project in December, paving the way for a fresh and modern look for the city. Get ready to witness a new chapter in Leicester’s urban landscape!
Artisan Containers
The city council is gearing up for an exciting transformation in Market Place North. Two buildings, located at 14 and 16, are set to be demolished to make room for a new artisan containers hub. This innovative project will feature pop-up venues for independent businesses housed in shipping containers. Meanwhile, neighboring structures at numbers 12, 18, and 20 will be undergoing refurbishment to enhance the area.
Seeking developers
The council is actively seeking developers interested in bringing this vision to life. The hub will include container-style buildings lining a newly paved pathway connecting Green Dragon Square with St Martin’s Square. The plans outline a vibrant mix of artisan start-ups, upscale retail offerings, and street food outlets to inhabit the space.
Adjacent land, currently used as a car park, holds potential for additional artisan start-ups, premium retail options, and street food vendors. The city council’s acquisition of properties in 2019 has paved the way for this exciting revitalization project.
Architects vision
Hickman & Smith Architects are providing architectural services for Leicester City Council as part of the strategic regeneration of Leicester city centre. The ‘Connecting Leicester’ project aims to create a connected, safe, and pedestrian-friendly city center by partially demolishing and extending existing buildings.
It includes adding a new shipping container retail development to support the market retail and enhance Green Dragon Square. The sustainable design uses upcycled shipping containers and energy-efficient features like PV cells and heat pumps for heating, cooling, and lighting. This modular approach allows for adaptability and flexibility to meet future needs.
Nick Sykes, manager at Super Game Shack in Silver Arcade, said the area was in need of an “uplift”.
“Cank Street needs to bring people over that way,” he said.
“It’s mostly a cut-through to the market – there are no real shops there to talk about.
“It really needs a revamp, it needs people to come over there. It would be cool if they did.”
City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said the project would enhance a “vibrant independent shopping area” and that the project represents the “missing link” in the revitalisation of the marketplace area.
He said: “We’ve already done the link through into the town square, which is absolutely brilliant and everybody said after that, well why didn’t we do it years ago?”
Soulsby went on to say: “We’ve already done the link through into the town square, which isbrilliant and everybody said after that ‘well why didn’t we do it years ago? This is the next thing – a link from Green Dragon Square to the very vibrant St Martin’s area. It also opens up the car park at the back and makes that very usable.”
“It’s particularly important because it goes through from the space that has been created in Green Dragon Square through to The Lanes beyond that are now such a vibrant independent shopping area. It’s hard to believe now they were, not so many years ago, in a semi-derelict condition. It’s been dramatically transformed already. And now this link will make them even more attractive and special.”
Summary
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Further reading
https://hickmanandsmith.co.uk/portfolio/market-place/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-68083078
https://inboxprojects.com/beer-shop-shipping-container/2373
https://inboxprojects.com/container-bike-store-training-whinlatter-forest/1841
