Leicester railway station pub can be demolished, council says

The Parcel Yard closed earlier this year

A historic pub will be demolished to pave the way for a £22m redevelopment of Leicester railway station.

The Parcel Yard, in London Road, was given a stay of execution last month by Leicester city councillors who delayed a decision on allowing it to be knocked down.

However the demolition has now been approved after officials warned delays could add to the cost of the scheme.

The demolition was unanimously approved at a planning meeting on Wednesday.

Councillors had been concerned the pub could be flattened before proposals for the wider revamp were approved.

They also wanted to be certain the station renovation, which is being led by Network Rail and the council, would definitely go ahead before approving the demolition.

However this week's decision to remove the 1930s art deco pub, named after the station's former sorting office and parcel yard, will allow the project to proceed.

An artist's impression shows the proposal for a new station entrance

Councillors were assured full plans for the restoration would be lodged in March.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the planning committee was told delays could increase the cost of the project due to inflation.

The council would also have had to pay for security for the empty property.

The demolition is expected to take five months to complete.

The authority secured government levelling up cash towards a complete remodelling of the station in 2021, which needs to be spent by March 2025, or it could be lost.

The Thomas Cook statue in front of the pub would be removed and kept in storage throughout the works

The station redevelopment does not yet have full planning permission in place, but looks set to turn the existing covered entrance hall area into a new plaza for shopping, food and drinks.

The station entrance would also move from London Road to Station Street, where the façade of the station would be restored, turning it into the new main entrance where the pub stands now.

Existing taxi ranks would also be moved to Station Street.

A decision on the station revamp is expected in July next year.

The council said if the scheme was not ultimately approved then a pocket park would replace the pub.