North West Leicestershire District Council has lodged plans to turn the former Coalville Market Hall into two self-contained units, with one of them possibly used as a cinema, according to Leicester Mercury. The proposal has now gone to planning officers, who will decide whether the scheme can move forward.
The site off High Street in Coalville town centre has been empty since early 2021, when the market moved to the Newmarket building on Marlborough Square. The council’s plans would bring the building back into use as two independent retail units and/or a cinema, while also changing the Market Hall car park.
Coalville Market Hall plans
Anotherkind Architects is leading the project for North West Leicestershire District Council. The former Coalville Market Hall was built between 1974 and 1975 and officially opened on October 22, 1975 as a local authority-operated indoor market.
The plans say the hall has suffered from a lack of maintenance and faces further structural deterioration without intervention. The council wants to keep the building’s saddle-shaped roof as part of a heritage-led redevelopment while splitting the larger structure into two independent buildings.
Whitwick Road and the Rex
The cinema idea has already surfaced in other Coalville locations. The council had previously considered a cinema on its former council offices in Whitwick Road, but those buildings have since been demolished and will be replaced with housing.
Coalville’s historic Rex cinema in Jackson Street was also considered. It has not screened films in more than 40 years and was most recently a Dunelm Mill store before it was vacated.
Market Hall car park
The current proposal also includes public toilet facilities within the car park area and ANPR cameras for the site. Part of the flat roof would be demolished under the plan, while the council keeps the roof form it says gives the building its character.
Planning officers at North West Leicestershire District Council now have the submitted plans to assess. The open question is whether the cinema space would have an operator if the redevelopment is approved.
