One resident has called for ‘bigger and better’ shops
06:00, 26 Sep 2026
The Belvoir Shopping Centre, in Coalville, Leicestershire.(Image: Leicester Mercury)
A Leicestershire town’s centre has been described as “dreadful” in wake of the announcement that another shop will close.
The British Heart Foundation store, in Coalville’s Belvoir Shopping Centre, is the latest to announce its closure.
Amid the news LeicestershireLive has spoken with residents in the town.
One woman, who did not wish to be named, said she felt it was a “shame”. She said: “We’ve got many charity shops so I don’t feel we’d miss one but then it’s going downhill.
“When you think of how many new houses they keep pushing up around here. It’s dreadful.
“The trouble is everybody’s buying online. My daughter-in-law doesn’t even know what it’s like to go inside a shop.
“I can’t be bothered with the hassle of ordering things online because then you might have to send it back. I like to look and be able to feel what I’m buying.
“Years ago it was thriving and a lovely town. It’s a shame, I can understand why younger people move away.”
Another local woman who has lived in the area for decades expressed shock to learn that the British Heart Foundation store was closing.
Upon being told the news, she said: “Oh is it? Oh my god, that has been there for years.
“It’s quite a shock to hear that it’s going.
“It used to be lovely [in Coalville]. Where Insomnia Coffee is now, you had Home and Colonial which became Liptons. There used to be a Dorothy Perkins and a Dunelm.
“Times have changed now haven’t they? It hasn’t been the same since COVID.”
The British Heart Foundation closure on Saturday, October 10 comes after other shops such as Shoe Zone, Poundland and New Look previously departed the town.
A third woman, who wished to remain anonymous, added that she feels the rise of online shopping and technology has led to the changes.
She said: “We’ve only got one bank now but then that’s the same everywhere you go; apart from Leicester or if you’re if you’re going to Loughborough, but then I have to travel and catch the bus.
“Why Coalville has gone like this, I don’t know.
“I think what’s done is the younger generation and how everything is online; that’s fair enough, but then they’re forgetting about people like us. We aren’t tech-wise.”
A man who has lived in the town for 10 years has called for “bigger and better” shops in the town.
He said there could be more on offer for everyone and that the area “needs” something.
The local man added: “It’s terrible, isn’t it? There’s nothing here.
“They need better shops and bigger shops. Ashby is the same and Loughborough is getting worse; everything is disappearing from the streets.
“We moved to the area 10 years ago and from then it’s been like this ever since – it’s sad.
“We just need something. A couple of big shops would be great but that’s up to the shops isn’t it?
“There could be more for everybody.”
