Insider Media Limited

The future of Leicester's Phoenix Square is very much assured – that’s according to John Long, development director at Blueprint, which built the £21m mixed use scheme. Long told Insider: “Along with the city council, we’ve got a long-term investment in Phoenix Square and, despite reports, the residential and commercial side, which we look after, is doing well at the moment.”

He added: “We’ve let out 60 per cent of the residential space and 50 per cent of the commercial space – pretty good going when you consider the financial climate.”

Long said that Leicester City Council’s recent £250,000 investment into Phoenix Square should not be looked at as a bail-out. He added: “The council has actually been quite canny in that it has bought all the cinema and projection equipment from the company running the cinema, so that if that company does fail, then there will still be a functioning cinema at Phoenix Square."

Long revealed that recent reports about Phoenix Square had led to residents at the development becoming worried about their investments, and that Blueprint has big plans for the area.

“We think the area around Phoenix Square is ripe for the next phase of development,” he said. “We’re working with Prospect Leicestershire and Lathams Architects and looking at the wider masterplan to see what more public realm work could be done before we kick on with the second phase of Phoenix Square.”

According to Long, Blueprint is either looking at a 50,000 sq ft hotel for the second phase, or a similar-sized office development.

“We’ve got our feelers out,” he said. “We know what we want to build and what is feasible, and we hope that within six to 12 months we’ll have some genuine interest.”