Concerns over demolition plan for shopping centre

Work to demolish the majority of a shopping centre in Leicestershire will start this spring if an application by the owner is given the go-ahead.

Carillon Court, in Loughborough, had almost two-thirds of its units standing empty at the end of last year when owners Leicester Commercial Ltd said it wanted to carry out a £70m redevelopment to turn part of the site into housing.

Signs have now been put up around the shopping centre signalling a plan to demolish a large part of the building.

However, Charnwood Borough Council, which needs to approve the demolition, and Tylers Department Store, which plans to stay on the site, say they both have concerns and need to see more details.

The plan would involve levelling about 70% of the shopping centre around Swan Street, Derby Square and Market Street, leaving only the front part of the building near Market Place and Tylers still standing.

Leicester Commercial Ltd, which bought the centre from administrators in 2021, has said there is not the demand for retail space that there used to be.

Instead, it aims to construct new purpose-built student flats on the site, which it hopes will "draw students out of traditional terraced housing".

An application to the council says the owner would like to start demolition work on 18 May with the hope of having the work done by 31 October.

Tylers Department Store, which sits on the Carillon Court site, originally opened in Loughborough in 1922 and has been run by three generations of the same family.

The firm once owned all the land where the shopping centre now sits, but sold it to a developer in the 1970s, which in return promised to build the current store.

Director Steve Tyler said the shop would remain open after any redevelopment of Carillon Court, but the demolition application raised a number of issues which needed to be resolved.

He added: "Our building is physically attached to Carillon Centre which means the premises share electricity, plumbing and sprinkler systems.

"There are also various constraints in place, which mean the new owners cannot do anything that affects our profitability or our trade.

"We have asked a number of questions about the development, but they have not been answered so far.

"Looking at the existing plans, there are certain areas of concern. They are intending to take the car park off our second floor, which would leave us without a roof.

"We are not opposed to the development. We are more than happy to work with the developer for the benefit of our business and the rest of Loughborough."

A spokesperson for Charnwood Borough Council confirmed the authority had received an application to demolish part of the shopping centre.

The council has 28 days to decide whether the current owner needs to apply for full planning permission for the demolition, or whether the work can be carried out without planning permission under permitted development rights.

However, a spokesperson added: "The council has previously expressed concerns over the future of the site and urged the developer to come forward soon with a well-considered and balanced proposal for its future use."

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