Disruption Expected in Leicester

Visitors to Leicester city centre this weekend are being warned of new traffic control measures because of planned protests.

A section of the city centre will be closed to all traffic during Saturday, October 9, ahead of the demonstration by the English Defence League (EDL) and counter-demonstration by Unite Against Fascism (UAF).

From 9am to 6pm, the eastern part of the city centre will be cordoned off with road closures staffed by police officers, who will control all access through them.

The area affected will be bordered by Belgrave Gate to the north and Granby Street to the south, and extends as far east as the inner ring road. The inner ring road itself will remain open to traffic.

The bus station in Charles Street will be on the edge of the affected zone, so temporary bus stops are being set up in Belgrave Gate and Abbey Street.

The temporary bus stops will be labelled from A to S. Passengers are being advised simply to remember at which bus stop they arrive, and use the same one for their return journey.

All parking, taxi ranks and disabled parking bays in Belgrave Gate and Abbey Street will be suspended and allocated to buses.

Temporary taxi ranks are being set up in King Street, near Leicester City Council's New Walk Centre offices, and additional disabled parking will be allowed at Peacock Lane and King Street.

Leicester City Council's head of traffic management, Andy Thomas, said: "These changes are necessary to secure and maintain public order and safety on Saturday, October 9.

“They have been prepared in partnership with Leicestershire Police. We have provided temporary taxi ranks and disabled parking bays as near to the city centre as we can.

"For bus passengers, we are simply advising people to make a note of which bus stop they arrive at, and return to that when they want to leave the city centre.

"We want to balance visitors' safety with making sure the traffic flow and transport can be as good as possible under these exceptional circumstances."