The Community Scrutiny Committee of North West Leicestershire District Council met on 11 September 2025 to discuss the Housing Allocation Policy, the Marlborough Square Project, and the Coalville Regeneration Framework. The committee was also scheduled to discuss items for inclusion in the future work programme.

Coalville Regeneration Framework Update

The committee was scheduled to review an updated version of the Coalville Regeneration Framework, ahead of a cabinet meeting in September 2025.

The framework, which was last updated in 2023, showcases completed regeneration projects and highlights ongoing priority projects in Coalville Town Centre.

Since the adoption of the framework, the council has delivered projects including:

• The new public space in Marlborough Square.
• The restoration and relocation of the Mother and Child statue at the entrance to the Belvoir Shopping Centre.
• Enhancements to Mantle Lane, including the redecoration and lighting of the historic railway bridge.
• The redevelopment of the former Mitchell and Grieves factory site into a new residential neighbourhood.
• Private sector-led improvements to the Belvoir Shopping Centre.
• The creation of a new council customer service centre.
• The internal restoration of Stenson House.
• Improvements to Hermitage Recreation Ground.

The updated framework also identifies three additional regeneration projects:

• Wolsey Road Regeneration Phase 3: The Old Bakery - Continuing the regeneration of brownfield areas at a key entrance to Coalville, focusing on infrastructure to provide access and connect Coalville Urban Forest Park into the town centre.
• The former Rex Cinema, Jackson Street - An important site within the town in need of investment and regeneration.
• Hotel Street Regeneration Site - An important site within the town in need of investment and regeneration.

The report pack stated that the latter two sites are in private ownership and not within the control of the council, but that listing them in the framework marks the intention of the council to work with landowners to support regeneration.

The report pack stated that the updated framework is intended to communicate the regeneration vision for Coalville to residents, promote investment opportunities to investors and developers, and convey the quality standards the council aspires to for the built environment.

Marlborough Square Project Review

The committee was scheduled to review the Marlborough Square Project, which was presented to the Community Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet in February 2022. The review was intended to provide a post-delivery assessment of the project, including a financial summary, review of outcomes, and assessment of quality and timescales.

Physical implementation of the project began in late 2023 and was substantially completed in August 2024, after which the project entered a 12-month defects period during which Leicestershire County Council (LCC), as Highway Authority, was required to inspect the site and provide a statement of defects. Once the council's contractor has addressed all remedial items, LCC will reinspect and, subject to all matters being in order, issue a certificate placing the scheme on maintenance for 12 months. During this period, North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) will remain responsible for bearing the costs of maintaining the square. At the end of the 12 months, the square will then revert to LCC to maintain as public highway.

The review was scheduled to consider whether the project achieved its stated outcomes, whether the quality standards set for the project were achieved, whether the project was delivered on time, and whether the project was delivered in accordance with the agreed budget.

The original project brief sought a physical solution that would:

• Reduce the vehicle domination of the square, reduce vehicle speeds and remove street clutter.
• Make the square more flexible for events.
• Create a square that is easier for pedestrians (shoppers) to move around.
• Create a better waiting area for public transport users.
• Introduce new hard landscaping and trees to improve the visual appeal of this part of the town centre.
• Increase the amount of turnover in parking spaces, to allow more shoppers per hour to park in the square and get to businesses within the square more easily.

The desired benefits of the scheme were agreed as follows:

• Establish Marlborough Square as a pedestrian-dominated space, which is an attractive and safe place for shopping, informal gathering and events.
• Create an area which projects quality and a positive aesthetic such that it becomes an area which locals are proud of, providing the same kind of public realm experience that can be found in more prosperous towns.
• Increase retail footfall as a result of greater willingness to shop in places that feel safe and attractive.
• Increase range of retailers as a result of a greater willingness by new retailers to give it a try in locations which are attractive and popular.
• Reduce vehicular movements through concentration of car parking in strategic locations (fewer movements associated with hunting for car parking).
• Greater willingness by others to invest in the built fabric of Coalville.

The report stated that the Marlborough Square project is understood to have led owners and occupiers to develop plans for investment at Metrostores, Regal Bingo Hall and the Methodist Church.

The estimated cost to deliver the project was reported to the Community Scrutiny Committee in February 2022 as £2,711,500. The figure was updated in a report to Cabinet on 27 June 2023, when the Section 278 agreement¹ had been agreed and the project put out to tender. The notified estimated cost to complete the project at that date was £2,834,982, plus LCC Highways Inspection and Commuted Sum figures. At present, the anticipated final outturn of expenditure is £3,421,906.

Housing Allocations Policy Post-Implementation Review

The committee was scheduled to consider the impacts of changes to the council's Allocation Policy agreed by the cabinet in December 2023.

The main changes to the Allocations Policy were:

• An update to the income and savings thresholds based on the affordability of housing locally.
• An increase in the number of months of residency required for local connection from six to 12 to manage demand and align better with other local authorities in the region.
• A change to how homeless households were prioritised with an emphasis on speeding up rehousing and avoiding the need for temporary accommodation.

Some minor revisions were made under delegated authority in December 2024 and July 2025 to incorporate national legislative changes and to clarify wording in areas of the policy where there was a degree of uncertainty.

These included:

• Widening of local connection criteria for members of the Armed Forces, victims of domestic abuse and care leavers in line with national legislation.
• Clarification of when employment would be considered for local connection.
• Clarification of when income thresholds would be applied for different household types and extra consideration for existing social tenants.
• Clarification of when an extra bedroom for an overnight carer would apply.
• Greater flexibility to encourage moves where a property type is in need from another home seeker.

The main changes brought in with the new system were:

• Improved options for customers with regard to self-service.
• Revised application questions.
• Ability for homeless households and housing applicants to be managed in the same system.
• Increased options to manage and record the assessment and review of applications.
• A greater degree of flexibility in setting up shortlists and matching applicants to properties to improve transparency in the offer process.

The report pack stated that a key part of the changes to both the policy and the system were to enable more active management of the housing register, with the aim being for the register to more realistically reflect the actual position at any one time. As a result, numbers of the housing register have dropped from 1,125 live applications (February 2024) to 800 current live applications (August 2025).

The report also noted that there does appear to be an increase in applicants who do not qualify to join the housing register, particularly on the grounds of local connection, income and debt.

Items for Inclusion in the Future Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to consider items for inclusion in the work programme. The plan of forthcoming cabinet decisions and the current work programme were attached for information.

The Committee Work Programme included the following items:

• Community Grant Annual Report (December 2025)
• Leisure Centres Annual Review (December 2025)
• Recommendations of the Water Management in the Coalville Strategic Growth Area Task and Finish Group (December 2025)
• Stenson Square Gardens – Presentation of Designs Post Public Engagement and Approval to Fund and Submit Planning Application(s) (February 2026)

The document also included an update on the National Forest Line, stating that the Restoring Your Railways fund was paused following the July General Election, which has affected the delivery of the Ivanhoe Line project. NWLDC continue to lobby for the lines inclusion in future transport infrastructure projects.