Extra £10m earmarked for stalled station revamp

An extra £10m is to be earmarked for a major revamp of Leicester's railway station.

Leicester City Council is leading the project to transform the Victorian station, in London Road, but has so far failed to find contractors willing to take on the job.

On Tuesday, the authority said it had been given permission by the government to transfer £9.95m of Levelling Up funding, previously awarded to upgrade the city's busy St Margaret's Way junction, to the station refurbishment budget

Leicester's mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said he was confident the additional money, taking the total investment to £32.6m, would now kickstart the scheme.

The council said it hoped work would start on the scheme in spring 2028 and be completed in 2030.

However, opposition councillors said they were concerned the cost of the scheme was "ballooning".

The council said it was working with Network Rail and East Midlands Railway (EMR) on the revamp, which is intended to modernise the station, improve facilities and increase passenger capacity.

The authority successfully bid for £12.15m of Levelling Up money to remodel the St Margaret's Way junction, where the A6 meets the inner ring road, in 2023.

But £9.95m of that money will now go into the station revamp, it said.

Under the new funding agreement, the railway station project will now receive financial backing totalling £27.5m from the Levelling Up Fund, and key improvements to the St Margaret's junction, one of the city's busiest, will still go ahead.

Council reports also state the Department for Transport and EMR are considering making an additional £5m investment in the project.

The city council's confirmed contribution of £5m will remain unchanged, officials said.

"The railway station is a landmark building and a gateway to the city, but as a vital transport hub, it's just not fit for the 21st Century," Soulsby said.

"It urgently needs investment and a radical revamp so it can continue to meet the needs of our growing city.

"This new funding agreement with the government is a tremendous endorsement of the importance of this project.

"There is a real determination to make this happen."

The Labour mayor added: "With a new budget agreed, we can now move forward with confidence and deliver the bold and ambitious transformation of our historic railway station that is so badly needed."

Green Party city councillor Patrick Kitterick said the proposed scheme was "incredibly complex".

"I wonder if we are just proposing to do too much and the cost is just going to continue ballooning," he added.

"The fear is this is going to become Leicester's own version of HS2."

Council Conservative group leader Hemant Bhatia said he was concerned there may still be further delays to the scheme coupled with additional costs.

He said the council also needed to be transparent about the reduced scale of the St Margaret's scheme.

Under the plans, the station's entrance would move from London Road to Station Street, which would be closed to traffic and replaced with a new pedestrianised public plaza.

The station's existing glass-roofed entrance hall area would be renovated and turned into a new area for shopping, food and drinks.

Pick-up and drop-off points, including for hackney cabs, would be relocated from inside the station to a new location off Fox Street, close to the new entrance.

A new curved ramp, steps and lift would provide easy access to the new entrance and main concourse ticket hall, which would be remodelled to provide more space for passengers.

The council has already demolished the 1930s art deco Parcel Yard pub, which stood next to the station, as part of preparatory works for the main phase of work.

The council said it hopes to appoint a main development partner early in the new year, after retendering the contract later in the summer.

A separate contract to deliver the restoration of the historic railway station façade has already been advertised.

It is hoped work on that element of the scheme could begin later this year.

The council said it would proceed with a revised St Margaret's junction scheme, costing £5.2m.

It said the existing subway tunnels, which have been closed since early 2023, will be permanently removed and filled in.

A green space next to St Margaret's Church is to be extended and turned into a small park.

Officials said the junction itself would be improved to assist bus movement and reduce congestion experienced around St Margaret's Bus Station, along with new pedestrian crossings and safer routes for cyclists.

The council insisted the revised scheme would require minimal changes to the layout of the junction, allowing it to be carried out with a reduced budget.

By Dan Martin, Leicester political reporter

The Leicester station revamp is an ambitious project but that means it's also a complicated and expensive one which appears to have hit the buffers, for now.

The city council has found there are few available specialist contractors out there able, or willing, to take on a job like this at the price initially on offer.

But with some juggling of government cash, it's hoped an extra £10m will make the task more appealing to cautious firms when the contract goes out to market again this summer.

But even if a deal is done this time round, the timetable has slipped again.

Rail passengers are unlikely to see their new-look station completed until 2030 at the earliest.

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