THE FINISHING touches are now being made to Leicester’s Market Street as its £750,000 refurbishment nears completion. The last of around 12,000 granite slabs has been laid, and the entire scheme is due to be finished – on schedule – by the end of the month. City centre development manager Barry Pritchard said: “The works in the city centre can obviously be inconvenient for many people, but we’re now beginning to see the results of all our hard work. “What we’ve created on Market Street is a great space for pedestrians – and a great place to shop and to stop for a drink or a bite to eat.

“In a couple of weeks’ time, when the seats and lights are in and all the hanging baskets are up, I hope very much that people will like what they see.”

 

Polished pink granite seating, new bins, cycle racks and lamp columns will line up along the Fenwick side of Market Street, while small up-lighters will be installed on the opposite side of the street.

When the scheme is complete, hanging baskets will decorate the new lighting columns, ready for the visit of the Leicester in Bloom judges. This year, there will be even more flowers than usual, as the businesses on Market Street plan to organise a flower festival on their revamped street. The refurbishment of Market Street is part of the city council’s £19 million public realm improvement programme that will transform most of Leicester’s main shopping streets by the time the new Highcross Quarter opens in 2008.

 

 

Gallowtree Gate was the first scheme to be completed last November, while work to transform the pedestrianised section of Hotel Street with a pink granite surface is now gathering pace. The Hotel Street scheme, including provision for a pavement café outside the City Rooms, is due for completion in the autumn.

For more information on the city centre’s £19 million refurbishment, visit  http://www.leicester.gov.uk/regeneration

 

 

 

For media information only, please contact Madeleine Redway in the press office on 0116 252 6080 or email:madeleine.redway@leicester.gov.uk