A number of sites have been touted over the years
Coalville’s former Market Hall(Image: Lee Garrett/Leicester Mercury)
A disused Leicestershire market hall could become a town’s long-awaited new cinema under new regeneration plans.
North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) has put forward plans to regenerate the former Coalville Market Hall, located off High Street in Coalville town centre, into two independent, self-contained units – one of which could become a cinema.
Previously, NWLDC had touted the possibility of a cinema on its former council offices in Whitwick Road, Coalville, but these never formulated. These offices have since been demolished and will be replaced with housing.
Meanwhile, Coalville’s historic Rex cinema, in Jackson Street, was also eyed up as a potential cinema location. The Rex, which has not screened films in more than 40 years, was most recently a Dunelm Mill store before they vacated the town.
The new cinema plans, submitted by the council as the landowner, will also see changes to the Market Hall car park as part of the project.
Led by Anotherkind Architects, the project will see the creation of two independent retail units and/or a cinema on the site including public toilet facilities within the car park.
The town’s market hall was constructed between 1974 and 1975, officially opening its doors as a local authority-operated indoor market on October 22, 1975 before being completely vacant since early 2021 before the market moved to the Newmarket building on Marlborough Square.
Early 3D renders could show how the new buildings could look(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service)
Plans say the hall is suffering from a “lack of maintenance and is actively at risk of further structural deterioration without intervention”.
NWLDC hopes the project will give the new buildings a modern facelift while also preserving the building’s highly distinctive saddle-shaped roof in what it is calling “a heritage-led redevelopment”.
The project will effectively split the larger market hall into two independent buildings and demolish part of the flat roof, while the Market Hall car park will be slightly changed to handle visitors coming to the newly proposed retail units or cinema, and for shoppers heading to the town centre.
One major addition will be ANPR cameras installed in the car park as part of the project, with the council also planning to include public toilet facilities in the area as well.
The plans have been submitted to NWLDC planning officers but a decision has yet to be made.
