WORK is set to begin on the construction of more than 50 new affordable council homes at a former school site in the south of Leicester.
Leicester City Council plans to redevelop the derelict site of the former Newry and Southfield schools, in Eyres Monsell, for new housing.
The school buildings, which had stood empty for over a decade, were demolished in late 2022. This was supported by £360,000 of government funding from the One Public Estate (OPE) programme.
Now the council is ready to begin work to build 53 new council homes on the site. This will comprise of 44 houses and nine flats.
The new homes will 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.
After a competitive tendering process, the council has appointed GEDA, an award-winning construction, civil engineering, and development company, to oversee the construction of the new homes.
Cllr 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.”
Contractors will move onto the site in the coming days, with construction work expected to take around 16 months to complete.