Willmott Dixon to revamp the Robin Hood Chase

© Richard Pearson

Updated With the closure of St Ann’s Post Office on the Robin Hood Chase in 16 weeks time the remaining shopkeepers have all said they too will close. After more than 40 years of trading, the Chase shopping precinct looks set to come to the end of its current lifespan.

Project Manager Alan Parker was on the Robin hood Chase on Thursday meeting with the shopkeepers to discuss their future. Many are asking for some form of compensation prior to closing down because they blame the City Council for the many of the problems which has led to the Robin Hood Chase shops closing over recent years.

The planning blunder of building the Chase neighbourhood Centre in the middle of the precinct which has seriously damaged their trade. Allowing the former Co-op store to sell newspapers & magazines, which led to the closure of the Newsagent. Granting an alcohol licence to the Co-op, which in turn caused the closure of the off-licence store.

In other news, Willmott Dixon has been disclosed as the developer behind the new plans for the Robin Hood Chase, while the ASRA Housing group, formerly Leicester Housing Association will manage the new homes on completion.  Alan Parker is presently waiting to sign contracts with Willmott Dixon & ASRA before holding a public consultation event on the Chase in the next few weeks. A planning application will be submitted in July.

This comes as no surprise because the present CEO of ASRA, Matt Cooney (Shown here), was once the city council Housing Manager based on the Robin Hood Chase a few years ago.