UK town shopping centre on brink of demolition - opened in 1972
A planning application setting out the demolition of a building has been recommended to be approved.
Part of a UK shopping centre could be demolished after a planning application was submitted. The Loughborough centre was built in 1971 and opened its doors to the public the following year.
But now, Charnwood Borough Council's planning committee has been recommended by officers to approve a planning application this Thursday. The application to demolish part of Carillon Court was submitted by Leicester Commercial Limited.
The documents state that the proposed demolition would provide a "clean, tidy, cleared site ready for future redevelopment". Several previous applications to demolish parts of the site had been refused. This is stated in a report prepared for councillors.
An image of the shopping centre from Angel Row was shared in the planning application, which stated that it was seeking permission to demolish the section of the brick-faced building that meets the building comprising the car park.
In doing so, the arch structure and the buildings above would be kept in place, using existing supporting columns, the application added.
A report submitted by the applicant states: "The ultimate intention for Carillon Court includes its redevelopment for a mixed-use scheme.
"The proposed development seeks the demolition of a limited number of the existing vacant units to provide a clean, tidy, cleared site ready for future redevelopment."
According to a report by the borough council, the proposed demolition relates to units 12, 25, 26, 27, and 28A of the shopping centre and the empty single-storey unit next to unit 12, which does not have a car park above.
A borough council report points out that the proposal relates "solely to the small-scale demolition of a limited number" of empty units that "did not contribute" to town centre vitality or footfall.
The report also details that "concerns" had been raised regarding the absence of an approved redevelopment scheme for the site.
However, it added that the proposed demolition of empty units "would not prevent the continued operation" of the rest of the shopping centre nor "prejudice potential future redevelopment" of the site as a whole.
In addition, council documents make it clear that the authority was "aware of ongoing issues". These issues involve anti-social behaviour and the accumulation of refuse surrounding Carillon Court.
Therefore, it stated that if the demolition of the site goes ahead, the area would need to be "appropriately secured" by fencing.
