A sports pavilion in a city park is set to be torn down after city planners give the go-ahead. The pavilion in Rushey Fields Recreation Ground was once home to a bowling club, but the disused building went up in flames on Monday, May 21, last year.
The Leicester City Council-owned building suffered considerable damage and was deemed “unsafe for use”. No arrests were made, despite a public appeal by Leicestershire Police to help them find the culprits.
A planning application was submitted in August seeking permission for the building to be demolished. Approval has now been granted by planning officers at the city council.
READ MORE: Leicester hospitals reintroduce mandatory mask wearing after increase in Covid cases
The building will not be replaced, planning documents revealed, and the area will be incorporated into the wider green space. Planning officers have said they are satisfied that mitigations proposed during the demolition will limit the impact of the work, including through the dust and debris produced, on park users.
The work will take around a month, they added. While there will likely be “some increase in the traffic” around the park, the short time frame makes it “difficult to demonstrate that this would prejudice highway safety”. The scheme is acceptable, they concluded.