'Redundant' market earmarked for demolition

The market opened in 1984 with 60 stalls but that had reduced to 15 by the time trading ended in December 2023

The site of a former market, which ceased trading on New Year's Eve, has been earmarked for demolition.

Beaumont Market, in Beaumont Leys, Leicester, had been running for 39 years, but the city council ruled it no longer "had a viable future" due to declining trade.

Beaumont Leys Properties Ltd, which bought the site from the council in March, plans to pull down the old covered structure, public toilets and an office building, according to planning documents.

The company said the "clearance of the site" would allow for the "future redevelopment of the wider shopping centre".

'State of disrepair'

Leicester City Council initially decided to close the market, in Beaumont Leys, and sell the land last September, but following a petition against the move the closure was delayed until 31 December.

The market opened in 1984 with 60 stalls but that figure had reduced to 15 by the time trading ended in December.

At the time, stallholders said they were "gutted" and it was "tough" to see the market go, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said, with some relocating their pitches to a nearby car park in January.

In the planning application, the company said the site had "fallen into a state of disrepair" and was "redundant" forcing the demolition proposal.

However, it stated "no formal redevelopment" has been put forward.

A public consultation is due to end on 20 August, and if given the go-ahead work is expected to start next month with the aim to complete within two weeks, the company added.

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