Shopping centre demolition put on hold by council

A developer aiming to demolish Loughborough's Carillon Court shopping centre needs to secure planning permission before any work can start, a council has ruled.

Leicester Commercial Ltd wants to knock down about 70% of the shopping centre and replace it with new student flats.

It asked Charnwood Borough Council if prior approval was needed before the demolition could begin, with the aim of starting work on 18 May.

But a council officer has said planning permission is required because it is unclear how the demolition would affect Tyler's Department store and the former Green Man pub.

A solicitor who wrote to the council on behalf of Tylers said: "The car park is a part of Tylers and vice-versa.

"It is physically attached via three internal walls and runs into the second storey and over the top of the first storey of Tylers, without separation from the rest of Carillon Court."

The solicitor added Tylers also had direct access into the car park on the first and second floors of the shop, which act as an "alternative exit within the building in case of emergency".

The Green Man pub, which closed in the early 1990s and has remained largely untouched ever since, is also the basement of the building and the planning officer said the developer had not been clear enough on whether the basement would be kept or demolished and filled in.

Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteers Group argued the Green Man pub should be retained as an important part of local history.

In a letter to the council, the group wrote: "We believe that its fixtures, fittings and colourful murals, as they were on the day of closure, are still intact, making it an attractive representation of a style from over 50 years ago."

The plan would involve levelling about 70% of the shopping centre around Swan Street, Derby Square and Market Street, leaving only the front part of the building near Market Place and Tylers still standing.

Leicester Commercial Ltd, which bought the centre from administrators in 2021, has said there is not the demand for retail space that there used to be.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said residents had also raised concerns the plans could "devastate" nearby businesses.

In a letter to the council, one resident said the demolition would turn the centre into "a no-go area for shoppers" due to the noise.

"The demolition of the site will devastate the business for surrounding shopkeepers," they wrote.

Another member of the public said the proposed demolition would "hugely" affect Tylers, which the resident described as "one of the very few best quality shops remaining in Loughborough".

Leicester Commercial Ltd will now have to submit a planning application for the demolition, which would need to be approved by the council before work could start.

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