Turning car park into public space has paid off, says Leicester’s mayor

Jubilee Square

Jubilee Square

Nicholas Place car park

Nicholas Place car park

Leicester’s elected mayor has defended his decision to replace a city centre car park with a public space, arguing that businesses are reaping the benefits of the new pedestrian-friendly site. Despite opposition from local firms, the 50-space St Nicholas surface car park was removed in 2014 and replaced with the £4m park, which features lawns, hard landscaping and seating.

The pay & display car park was generating £200,000 revenue a year for the council. But mayor Sir Peter Soulsby believes this loss has been more than offset by the wider benefits of improving the public realm such as increased footfall. 

“You can take a narrow view of the net effect on parking revenue in the city centre or the wider view about what is the best use for that space,” says Soulsby. He also insists that there is still sufficient space for parking elsewhere in the city centre. “It is quite likely that a high proportion [who previously used the St Nicholas site] will park in another city council car park.”  

Soulsby was elected city mayor in 2011 and was re-elected last year with an increased majority. This came after 17 years as council leader and a further six years as Labour MP for Leicester South. 

“As an elected mayor I no longer have to proceed at the pace of the slowest,” he says. “I can take risks and also take the blame if things go wrong. As council leader I could never have made the major improvements to the space that is now Jubilee Square.” Soulsby says that before becoming mayor it had proved “impossible” to change the site due to “a combination of contentious issues” such as removing the car park, moving bus stops and cutting down a tree. 

The mayor acknowledges that the plans generated a lot of opposition, but says he was convinced the changes would make the site more attractive to visitors. 

Jubilee Square has become the focal point for public events in the city, such as the Diwali festival and open air screenings, and is due to host the celebrations for the Queen’s 90th birthday on 12 June.

The mayor says that as well as being a "destination in its own right" Jubilee Square is a "gateway to the city centre". It will also form an "important stepping stone" between Leicester's Old Town, the retail area and the area beyond the inner ring road, including the Waterside, Jewry Wall and Castle area.

Soulsby says he has received “very positive feedback” from retailers and businesses to measures designed to make the city more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly. This forms part of the Connecting Leicester programme, which aims to link up different parts of the city centre and reduce the dominance of roads.

“You only have to look at the amount of investment that is now happening in areas of the city where we have controversially introduced improvements to the public realm,” says the mayor. “We are now experiencing very dramatic investment coming in and taking advantage of the increased footfall that comes from a better public realm.”

He cites the decision of US technology giant IBM to open its first client innovation centre in the UK in Leicester, with the creation of 500 jobs over the next three years.

This follows the move of insurance firm Hastings Direct into the city centre last year, with the creation of more than 1,000 jobs. 

Meanwhile, UK wealth management firm Mattioli Woods has moved its headquarters back into Leicester’s city centre. “The company had moved out a few years ago because they wanted car parking and more space, but now they are back in the city centre because they want the vitality and the quality of the environment,” Soulsby says. 

Sir Peter Soulsby will be speaking at Cycle City Active City, which takes place in Leicester on 19-20 May.