Shopping centre ceiling 'partially collapsed'

Leicester City Council confirmed the collapse at Haymarket Shopping Centre happened on Wednesday afternoon

The ceiling of a shopping centre in Leicester partially collapsed following a "heavy downpour of rain", according to council officials.

Leicester City Council confirmed the collapse at Haymarket Shopping Centre happened on Wednesday afternoon, leading to the Belgrave Gate entrance being sealed off overnight.

The authority said on Thursday that shops remained "open as normal" and no-one had been hurt, with the affected entrance back open.

Officials said a "heavy downpour of rain" caused the shopping centre's drainage system to overflow, which resulted in the collapse but the council said its safety checks revealed the damage was "largely cosmetic".

Repairs to the ceiling are expected to take place outside of the centre's normal opening hours, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A council spokesperson said this would "keep further disruption to a minimum".

The authority bought the shopping centre in 2021 for £9.9m, prompting concerns from some on the council that it had paid over the odds.

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby acknowledged at the time that the authority would need to spend "probably a couple of million pounds" more on refurbishing it.

However, he felt this was a "very small price to pay", adding the purchase would both generate additional income for the council through tenancies and mean the authority itself would not have to continue paying rent on the space it occupies there.

In its first year, the shopping centre brought in £1.015 million in net profit. In its second year, that figure rose to £1.086 million, the LDRS said.

The spokesperson did not say when the repairs were expected to be completed or how much they would cost.