The first family homes to be built in Leicester city centre in over a century are now complete and have been welcomed by the city’s Mayor.
Sir Peter Soulsby recently returned to Erskine Street in Leicester, having previously visited the site during construction in July last year, to view the 23 completed new homes near Humberstone Gate and meet those who now occupy the very first housing of its kind in over a century.
The 17 family homes and six apartments were built as part of a £2.6 million affordable housing scheme between Westleigh Partnership Homes, housing and care organisation, Midland Heart, and Leicester City Council. These have now all been let to local people and the project has provided much-needed affordable family homes in a central location.
After touring the new development Leicester City Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, said: "Many apartments have been built in the city centre in recent years, but these are the first new family homes to be built within the inner ring road for decades.
"The families moving into these 17 new houses will help create a new community in the heart of the city – and that will help attract further new investment to the area.
"This scheme shows how a partnership between the city council, the Homes and Communities Agency and the private sector can help regenerate an inner city site and provide the affordable family homes that Leicester needs.”
Built on the site of Victorian terraced houses, which were demolished and replaced with commercial properties in the second half of the 20th century, the new homes are the first in the area since the late 1800s. Welcoming its first residents in February, the scheme is now complete and consists of two, three and four-bedroom houses, along with six one-bedroom apartments, one wheelchair-adapted property and associated off-street parking.
Matthew Moore, Property Director at Westleigh Partnership Homes, comments, “We are delighted to have built the first new houses in the area for over 100 years and be part of Leicester City Council’s plans to regenerate this former derelict factory site into a thriving community at the heart of the city.
Such a development have come to fruition as a result of a great partnership, with this unique scheme providing an opportunity for us to build a diverse mix of properties on land that would have otherwise lain dormant if it weren’t for the support of the city council, funding from the Home’s and Communities Agency’s (HCA) Affordable Housing Programme, as well as private investment from Midland Heart.”
Simon Vick, Head of Development at Midland Heart, comments, “We are really pleased to be part of this city centre development bringing new family homes to the centre of Leicester. This is one of a number of developments which will help Midland Heart to achieve its target of delivering 2259 new homes in the 4 years to March 2015.”
As well as Erskine Street, Westleigh Partnership Homes have also begun construction on two other Leicester sites at the former velodrome site on Saffron Lane and on derelict land at Crawford Close. These affordable schemes will result in a total of 98 new homes being built within the next 12 months across the city by the Whetstone-based developer, providing a mix of property styles including apartments, bungalows and family houses.
Westleigh Partnership Homes works closely together with housing associations to build affordable new homes throughout the East Midlands, South Yorkshire and Cambridgeshire.