Busy Leicester shopping street to get £900k revamp

Granby Street is the main route between the Leicester city centre and the railway station

A road has been closed in preparation for work on a £900,000 revamp of a busy city centre street.

The work will pedestrianise a stretch of Granby Street between Northampton Street and St George's Way, in Leicester.

The city council says it wants it to be a more welcoming gateway to the city and safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

The council said the first road closure - on Northampton Street - is to be put in place on Sunday for up to 11 weeks.

'Improvements'

Granby Street is the main route between the city centre and the railway station and work will take around seven months to complete.

Automated bollards will be installed and changes will be made to the existing cycle lane between Dover Street and the inner ring road to improve the route for cyclists, the council said.

In Northampton Street, existing footpaths will be widened and two new loading bays are due to be created.

The council said new trees would also be planted and cycle parking spots added, as well as the installation of a new docking station as part of the city's e-bike hire scheme.

Adam Clarke, the deputy city mayor, said: "These improvements will make the route more welcoming and safer for pedestrians and cyclists, while having minimal impact on motorists.

"It's over a decade since the underpass that ran beneath the ring road was removed and now is a good time to revisit the area and improve it further."

The council said after the closure of Northampton Street, from Charles Street to Newport Place, work will then move further along the road to between the junctions with Newport Place and Granby Street.

Work will move on to Granby Street in the spring.