East Midlands
Construction
Willmott Dixon Phoenix Square Leicester City Council
“This funding means the new cladding meets the stringent modern standards required by law.”
Deputy City Mayor for Climate, Economy and Culture, Leicester City Council
Willmott Dixon has completed an 18-month
re-cladding programme at Phoenix Square, one of Leicester’s most recognisable landmark buildings, restoring the Cultural Quarter’s mixed-use development to full modern fire safety standards with £14m of Government funding.
Procured via the Procure Partnerships Framework
Leicester City Council worked with Willmott Dixon — the firm that originally constructed the building in 2009, to complete the full re-cladding of Phoenix Square, ensuring the façade now meets the stringent fire safety standards introduced following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
Throughout the 18-month programme the building remained open, with Phoenix cinema and art centre, LCB Depot, and the residential apartments continuing to operate as normal.
A landmark building made safe for the future
The re-cladding covered the full façade of the building, including the central courtyard, bringing every external surface up to current legal standards. The work was funded through Homes England’s Building Safety Fund, awarded by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Phoenix cinema’s new extension, which opened in January 2023, was outside the scope of the project and remained fully unaffected throughout.
A safer future for Phoenix Square
Procured through the Procure Partnerships Framework, Willmott Dixon’s re-cladding of Phoenix Square has secured the long-term future of one of Leicester’s most important cultural and community buildings — bringing it fully in line with modern fire safety legislation.
“This Government-funded work was carried out due to a change in legislation following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, not because of any particular risk at Phoenix Square itself. This funding means the new cladding meets the stringent modern standards required by law. The building was very much open for business throughout the work, and we kept all groups representing users fully informed throughout.”
Cllr Adam Clarke
Deputy City Mayor for Climate, Economy and Culture, Leicester City Council