Railway station revamp in city approved

Leicester's railway station is set to undergo a huge transformation

Councillors have approved a £22m scheme to remodel Leicester railway station's entrance and buildings.

Leicester City Council successfully bid for £17.6m from the government's Levelling Up Fund for the project in 2021 and developed proposals with the rail industry.

Work to demolish an adjacent 1930s art deco pub - the Parcel Yard - began in February, with the final designs for the new layout revealed in May.

Sarah Gayton, from the National Federation of the Blind of the UK, had raised safety and accessibility concerns about the plans and said those concerns remained.

The decision was confirmed at a meeting on Wednesday, which city council director of planning, development and transportation, Andrew Smith, said was "an important step forward".

"It means we can move forward with a major improvement to our rail transportation in the city," he said.

"It's a major improvement to [the] gateway into the city and also it will help to stimulate regeneration in the area."

Mr Smith described the current station as a "particularly underwhelming entrance into the city".

"I think when we finish people will have a light, airy, easy-to-navigate railway station and it will totally transform the experience of coming into Leicester," he added.

Designs for the redeveloped station were revealed in May

'Not a priority'

Green councillor Patrick Kitterick spoke against the plans at the meeting, saying he believed it would take more than £5m of Leicester taxpayers' money to complete the redevelopment.

He suggested the money could be better spent on tackling homelessness or other urgent matters.

"This is simply not a priority," he added.

Mr Smith said the city council would still be listening to the public's comments about the design, as the redevelopment is delivered.

"We're continuing to have discussions for instance with accessibility groups to ensure that it works for everyone," he said.