THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX
SHIPPING CONTAINER ATTRACTION PLANNED TO DRAW IN SHOPPERS
mayor is planning a shopping destination with a difference for Leicester, writes Dan Martin.
The idea could see a professional, box park-style venue constructed out of shipping containers, including areas for pop-up shops, drinks and food outlets.
One potential site could be on a new pedestrian area which it is hoped will be created between Cank Street and Green Dragon Square.
PLANS for a new shopping destination made out of converted transport containers are being considered as part of Leicester city centre’s fightback against the imminent expansion of Fosse Park and the economic recovery from Covid-19.
The city council is looking at potential locations for a venue, which would include food and drink outlets, as well as creative businesses or small shops.
Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said the St Martin’s area of the city centre could potentially host such a development as one element of the council’s attempt to woo shoppers back into the city centre after the Covid-19 pandemic.
One potential area is a car park off Cank Street, which the council intends to open up by demolishing a row of shops to create a new pedestrian route between Green Dragon Square, near Leicester Market, and St Martin’s Square.
The mayor said: “Creating that new link gives us the opportunity to do something interesting with the car park space. It is one - but not the only - possible location.”
Sir Peter has visited a venue set up by the company BoxPark in Bristol and was impressed by what he saw.
There are others around the world, from Shoreditch in London to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.
He said: “I am very interested in this concept as a way of bringing new life and regeneration to the city.
“You could get a number of units in there for food and drink and other small businesses.
“You can put these units in for a few thousand pounds and that allows you to offer lower rent that reflects that and is attractive to smaller independent businesses.
“The council could be the landlord, but that is not the only model.
In a dig at Fosse Park, he added: “Leicester, in the post-Covid era, needs to offer something that a large soulless shopping park on the edge of town cannot.”
The retail park in the south of the city is preparing to open its £168 million expansion, on the old Everards brewery site, which has attracted big-name brands including Next, H&M, TK Maxx and Clarks.
However, Sir Peter was bullish in the face of shoppers being drawn away from the city centre to a complex, which has the added lure of free parking.
He said: “Fosse Park is not going to be a direct threat to the city centre because the city centre can offer something different, a different experience.”
Sir Peter said the demise of Debenhams at the Highcross, which has been earmarked to be redeveloped as flats, indicated an irreversible change to retailing in the city.
He said: “The large department store has not necessarily had its day as I would anticipate stores like John Lewis will continue to survive and draw people in, but we have to recognise there has been a fundamental change in retail.
“Our job is to look at alternatives because our future city centre will need that mix of things that will draw people in.”
The plan could proceed if the £2.6 million plan to flatten empty shops on the edge of Green Dragon Square is approved by the city council. It is part of the council’s plan to work with The Shearer Property Group, which owns the St Martin’s Precinct, to improve the area.
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SHIPPING CONTAINER MALL MAY BOAST FOOD AND DRINK VENUES