£150m development at Leicester railway station

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£150m development at Leicester railway station takes step forward

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A £150m office and leisure development at Leicester railway station has taken a major step forward.

More than £9.2m of public money has been earmarked to move the Royal Mail sorting office out of Campbell Street, it has emerged.

This would pave the way for the ambitious vision of having offices, shops, bars and restaurants, car parking and a new civic square in the area, which could attract as many as 2,400 jobs.

Under the scheme, the current entrance to the station could be converted into shops or restaurants, but the historic building would remain, while office blocks would aim to attract jobs into the city.

The Royal Mail is now considering the offer from Leicester regeneration leaders, who would then market the site to potential developers.

However, any further work at the site still depends on getting agreement from Network Rail, the owner of the station and the car park land, who will be negotiating with East Midlands Trains, the operator of services from the station.

Prospect Leicestershire, the organisation charged with bringing jobs and investment to the city and county, said it could be up to eight years before the development is completed.

Nick Carter, chairman of Prospect Leicestershire, said: "The future expansion of Leicester's business quarter is vital to provide space to attract high quality jobs into the city centre."

The cash, from East Midlands Development Agency, will go towards the costs of building the new mail depot, demolishing the existing one and preparing the area around the train station car park for development.

A spokesman for Royal Mail said its decision was expected within weeks.

He said: "Royal Mail is considering a proposal from Prospect Leicestershire to vacate the Campbell Street delivery office and move to another site within the city.

"The alternative site is still to be acquired by Prospect Leicestershire.

"Royal Mail is carefully considering this proposal and hopes to make a final decision with the next few weeks."

Martin Traynor, managing director of Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce, said getting the Royal Mail to move would be a major step forward for the development.

He said that although new high-quality offices, such as those in the nearby Colton Square, had struggled to attract tenants during the recession, it was "imperative" that the area around the train station was ready for investment after the economy recovers.

He said: "If we're going to make the best use of this part of Leicester, the relocation of the Royal Mail site is critical.

"This is where the public sector is best placed to spend its resources – to ensure that sites are ready for development when private sector investment is available."

A spokesman for Network Rail said it was working with Prospect on the "ambitious" scheme.