Is the City of Leicester a dump?

[Trav Le Bleu]

On 07/08/2026 at 08:03, RonnieTodger said:

Such a grey cloud over the city at the moment. Things closing left, right and centre without anything new or interesting coming along.

I've just come from the weather thread and this was top of the page. My initial reaction was, "what clouds? Please let there be rain clouds!"

[Trav Le Bleu]

New and improved?

 

New comedy festival for Leicester after firm folds - BBC News

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3ekx3v2d8yo

 

[Wymsey]

https://www.lgcplus.com/politics/governance-and-structure/county-seeks-legal-advice-to-oppose-lgr-10-08-2026/

 

[Durnerz]

I avoid the place like the plague now. 
 

I used to enjoy heading to the market, the polish supermarket and the various shops, cafe Roma etc. 

 

Now look at it, managed decline and rapidly turning into a crime-ridden slum. 

[davieG]

1 hour ago, Wymsey said:

https://www.lgcplus.com/politics/governance-and-structure/county-seeks-legal-advice-to-oppose-lgr-10-08-2026/

 

I don't know why they've expanded it as far as the have, sure it might balance up the numbers but the people and characters of these different district are diverse and are as important as the numbers

[MaidstoneFox]

On 11/08/2026 at 07:23, Trav Le Bleu said:

New and improved?

 

New comedy festival for Leicester after firm folds - BBC News

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3ekx3v2d8yo

 

About getting people through the door.

 

About 30 years ago I used to work at De Montfort Hall and it was a struggle then to even half fill the place apart from the biggest names and panto. A general opinion from staff was that Leicester people, 'were a bit apathetic', compared to other places. No idea if that's still the same or was ever truly the case.

[Free Falling Foxes]

22 minutes ago, MaidstoneFox said:

About getting people through the door.

 

About 30 years ago I used to work at De Montfort Hall and it was a struggle then to even half fill the place apart from the biggest names and panto. A general opinion from staff was that Leicester people, 'were a bit apathetic', compared to other places. No idea if that's still the same or was ever truly the case.

About 10 or so years ago I went to see The Wilko Johnson Band at the O2 Academy in Leicester.

I think that place holds 1500 folk? That night there was fewer than 40 of us, yet other venues during that tour were packed out.

[Trav Le Bleu]

9 hours ago, MaidstoneFox said:

About getting people through the door.

 

About 30 years ago I used to work at De Montfort Hall and it was a struggle then to even half fill the place apart from the biggest names and panto. A general opinion from staff was that Leicester people, 'were a bit apathetic', compared to other places. No idea if that's still the same or was ever truly the case.

I think it was more about the crap acts and washed up has-beens DMH always seem to wheel out.

 

It's been years since DMH had a relevant music act on, which is a shame, as it's got great acoustics.

 

I tell a lie. Went to see Nick Cave a couple of years ago. The hall was packed for that though cos... relevant.

 

Back in the 90s I saw James, Pixies, Ride, The Farm, plus others, all of them having  big tours and packing the place out.

 

If you book them, they will come.

[MaidstoneFox]

2 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

I think it was more about the crap acts and washed up has-beens DMH always seem to wheel out.

 

It's been years since DMH had a relevant music act on, which is a shame, as it's got great acoustics.

 

I tell a lie. Went to see Nick Cave a couple of years ago. The hall was packed for that though cos... relevant.

 

Back in the 90s I saw James, Pixies, Ride, The Farm, plus others, all of them having  big tours and packing the place out.

 

If you book them, they will come.

That's all very well, but it's concerning when you don't get big crowds for Sacha Distel and Sesame Street, the musical.

[davieG]

Women don't feel safe in Leicester city centre as thousands of sexual offences reported
Parts of Leicestershire saw the number of sex offences soar by more than 10 per cent

 

Women in Leicester say they do not feel safe walking around the city centre at night - that's as new data shows thousands of sexual offences have been reported in the area.

New Home Office figures reveal police recorded nearly 4,000 sexual offences across Leicestershire in the year ending March 2026, with the city centre recording one of the highest rates of sex crimes in the East Midlands.

Police recorded 1,669 sexual offences in the city last year, including 645 rapes, the equivalent of 4.3 crimes per 1,000 residents - the joint 36th-highest rate among more than 300 council areas in England and Wales.

It's a series of statistics backed up by residents and city-goers who simply don't feel safe in Leicester.

 

More here

 

Women don't feel safe in Leicester city centre as thousands of sexual offences reported | Leicestershire Live

 

 

[davieG]

[CosbehFox]

On 11/08/2026 at 07:23, Trav Le Bleu said:

New and improved?

 

New comedy festival for Leicester after firm folds - BBC News

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3ekx3v2d8yo

 

Really good bloke at the centre of it. He’s a Manc but his passion for Leicester as a city is tenfold that many residents haven’t it 

[CosbehFox]

Becoming a big fan of the Cultural Quarter end of town. Phoenix, Exchange, couple of good pubs, LCB depot 

[Free Falling Foxes]

4 hours ago, CosbehFox said:

Becoming a big fan of the Cultural Quarter end of town. Phoenix, Exchange, couple of good pubs, LCB depot 

When the LCB Depot was indeed a depot for the buses, they had team in our snooker league. I was playing a guy there many moons ago when someone walked during our match and said, Its the first time he'd seen snooker played on that table.

Tbf, there was several suspicious stains on the cloth.

Edited 21 August by Free Falling Foxes

[Trav Le Bleu]

1 hour ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

When the LCB Depot was indeed a depot for the buses, they had team in our snooker league. I was playing a guy there many moons ago when someone walked during our match and said, Its the first time he'd seen snooker played on that table.

Tbf, there was several suspicious stains on the cloth.

Well if On The Buses is to be believe, ugly old bus drivers were always pulling hot young totty.

[Muzzy_no7]

On 20/08/2026 at 14:45, davieG said:

The measures to tackle ASB..are they gonna be increased CCTV and funding for the Police or are they gonna p*ss money up the wall?

[Parafox]

On 20/08/2026 at 14:45, davieG said:

I'll wait and see.

 

I thought the Market Place was already being upgraded.

 

Cleaner streets, they've bought a couple of chewing gum removing machines but they'll need be operational 24hrs to remove the spit and gum that's soiling the very expensive Chines slabs that cracked and broke to then be replaced by a filling of tarmac. 

 

No town centre will be perfect but ours seems to have been allowed to degrade in favour of cycle and bus lanes and ways of forcing traffic congestion to make it as unpleasant as possible to drive in to visit.

 

Clean up the main approaches to the city and that make it more attractive. Narborough Road, Humberstone Road, Aylestone Road, Melton Road, Hinckley Road are a disgrace in terms of illegal parking, litter, and just that sense of being quite neglected.

 

Edited 21 August by Parafox

[SemperEadem]

Rockaboom is closing after 40 years

[MC Prussian]

I find the amount of litter in the streets appalling. Would more trashcans help? Or a city council interested in keeping the city clean?

 

Same goes for all the beggars, numbers seem to have increased over the years.

Favela vibes.

Edited 6 September by MC Prussian

[davieG]

35 minutes ago, MC Prussian said:

I find the amount of litter in the streets appalling. Would more trashcans help? Or a city council interested in keeping the city clean?

 

Same goes for all the beggars, numbers seem to have increased over the years.

Favela vibes.

More bins wont help much as plenty can't even bother to go the final yard and put the rubbish in the bin as witnessed by the amount that's often lying around the bins.

 

I raised this subject many times but when someone replied "it gives someone a job" I realised it's a lost clause.

 

We were once renowned in the 50s as the cleanest city in Europe now we must be one of the dirtiest. It's not just the City either Hinckley is awash with litter and dog shit so I suspect it's the same in other county towns.

 

I've got a regular dog shitter who does there business outside my house were we have plenty of dog walkers passing by this one regularly does a dam busters version with a dropping every few feet. There's a dog bin around the corner less than a 100 metres away.

[Free Falling Foxes]

1 hour ago, MC Prussian said:

I find the amount of litter in the streets appalling. Would more trashcans help? Or a city council interested in keeping the city clean?

 

Same goes for all the beggars, numbers seem to have increased over the years.

Favela vibes.

 

19 minutes ago, davieG said:

More bins wont help much as plenty can't even bother to go the final yard and put the rubbish in the bin as witnessed by the amount that's often lying around the bins.

 

I raised this subject many times but when someone replied "it gives someone a job" I realised it's a lost clause.

 

We were once renowned in the 50s as the cleanest city in Europe now we must be one of the dirtiest. It's not just the City either Hinckley is awash with litter and dog shit so I suspect it's the same in other county towns.

 

I've got a regular dog shitter who does there business outside my house were we have plenty of dog walkers passing by this one regularly does a dam busters version with a dropping every few feet. There's a dog bin around the corner less than a 100 metres away.

If there was a bin on every lamppost it would make little difference.

Compare that with Paris. When visiting there a few years ago, there was far fewer bin around yet hardly any litter.

In Germany, I witnessed a group of young lads on a park that had dropped food wrappers drink cans and so on around where they sat.

When they left, they cleared it up.

I doubt you would see that in these parts.

Sadly, it seems a cultural thing.

[westernpark]

Brew Beat was fantastic yesterday. Lots of different people enjoying music, drink and good food. Felt very safe and well organised.

[Narborough Road Fox]

7 hours ago, SemperEadem said:

Rockaboom is closing after 40 years

It hardly ever seemed to be open recently. It's sad to see it go though. Bought so much music from there over the years

 

[Parafox]

10 hours ago, davieG said:

More bins wont help much as plenty can't even bother to go the final yard and put the rubbish in the bin as witnessed by the amount that's often lying around the bins.

 

I raised this subject many times but when someone replied "it gives someone a job" I realised it's a lost clause.

 

We were once renowned in the 50s as the cleanest city in Europe now we must be one of the dirtiest. It's not just the City either Hinckley is awash with litter and dog shit so I suspect it's the same in other county towns.

 

I've got a regular dog shitter who does there business outside my house were we have plenty of dog walkers passing by this one regularly does a dam busters version with a dropping every few feet. There's a dog bin around the corner less than a 100 metres away.

 

Hinckley really has gone downhill in terms of litter and general drabness and neglect despite what Hinckley BID claim.

 

Yeah, nice food festival, decent car show every year. The amount of detritus left behind after the food festival was sad to see. Loads of extra bins but still people just drop their waste where they stand

 

Don't get me started on the amount of dog sh1t left on the pavements near me. 

 

And Burbage common. It's a minefield of poop. I don't walk my dog there anymore.

[Parafox]

10 hours ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

 

If there was a bin on every lamppost it would make little difference.

Compare that with Paris. When visiting there a few years ago, there was far fewer bin around yet hardly any litter.

In Germany, I witnessed a group of young lads on a park that had dropped food wrappers drink cans and so on around where they sat.

When they left, they cleared it up.

I doubt you would see that in these parts.

Sadly, it seems a cultural thing.

Same with Rome and Barcelona.

 

The only Euro city I felt was a bit shit was Athens.