An unexpected historic find delayed work to replace two former city schools with new homes. The demolition of the Newry and Southfield schools, in Eyres Monsell, began in late 2022 to make way for new council housing.
More than two years on, Leicester City Council has revealed that this week will see the beginning of construction work for the 53 new properties. LeicestershireLive approached the council to find out why it had taken so long for the construction to start.
The demolition of the derelict buildings was “complex” and “took longer than originally planned” after a network of air raid shelters and tunnels were discovered beneath the site, we were told by a council spokesman. These had not been on any plans, he added.
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These then needed to be recorded “for historical purposes” before they could be removed, the spokesman continued. Additional work was also required to “backfill the voids” and make them ready for construction.
Additionally, “more detailed design work” was necessary before the contract could go to tender, the spokesman said. This has now all been completed, and construction company GEDA appointed to carry out the build of the new homes.
The development, once complete, will comprise of 44 houses and nine flats. These will all be for social rent, with the project having long been touted as one of the steps to addressing the city’s housing crisis.
Leicester City Council declared its housing crisis in 2022, saying there was a “severe lack of truly affordable homes” locally. However, in the years since, waiting lists for housing and the number of people sleeping rough in the city have only risen.
The majority of the homes for the schools site – 30 – will be two-bed properties, including one bungalow. The council previously said there was an "overriding priority" for two-bed, four-person homes in the city. There will also be two one-bed bungalows, 12 three-bed houses, five one-bed flats and four-two bed flats. They are to be built to high eco-performance standards and feature a range of energy efficiency measures to cut their carbon cost and help future tenants save on energy bills, the city council said.
Access to the site will be via The Newry, rather than the existing access off Southfield Drive. This is because of the one-way restriction on Southfield Drive.
The project is expected to cost the authority around £16 million and will be funded through the council’s housing revenue account and through Right to Buy receipts. Work is set to take around 16 months to complete.
The Newry and Southfields schools had stood vacant and derelict for more than a decade since their replacement, the Samworth Academy, opened.
Elly Cutkelvin, assistant city mayor for housing, said: “The redevelopment of the vacant and disused Newry and Southfield school sites for new housing represents an important step in our wider strategy to address the housing crisis in the city. I’m pleased that construction work is now able to get under way on this complex and exciting project.
“It will provide dozens of new and much-needed council homes and help bring a vacant site back into use in a way that will bring real benefits to the local neighbourhood. We’ve set out an ambitious programme of creating new housing to try to meet the city’s urgent housing needs. Building new council houses to replace those lost to the Right to Buy scheme over the last few decades is an essential part of that.”
Colm McVeigh, Build GB director at GEDA Construction, said: “We are delighted to be working with Leicester City Council and their design team to deliver 53 housing units at Southfield and Newry. This is an exemplar project, and the new homes will be built to high-performance standards.
“We’re also proud to working on a project that will have a huge and positive impact on the community, providing much-needed high-quality and affordable new homes for local residents.”
