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Progress milestones for New Lubbesthorpe

Blaby District's award-winning community at New Lubbesthorpe is celebrating a whole series of major milestones.

Construction is starting on the first local centre with work already underway on the 66-bedroom care home which will feature in the mixed-use scheme.

Progress on the centre's two-storey building, which will house a Sainsbury's Local store, three additional retail units, a café and bistro and GP surgery, is expected to begin within weeks.

Both are scheduled to be finished by next spring, completing the Tay Road feature square which includes New Lubbesthorpe Primary School.

Developers have also reported a major residency achievement - as at the end of December some 1,022 homes were occupied. And one of the partners, Davidsons Homes, has begun work on the next 163 properties as part of Phase 2 of the scheme.

Another developer, David Wilson Homes, recently received planning permission to install solar panels on its houses – the first advance of its kind at New Lubbesthorpe.

Other sustainable features making a difference to the community are dedicated bus services - NovusDirect, running into Leicester city and NovusFosse which journeys to Fosse Park.

The popularity of NovusDirect has seen the number of buses on the route increase from two to three, running up to every 20 minutes on weekdays. Residents are also able to rent a car through the Enterprise Car Club. These initiatives are coordinated by GO Travel Solutions and funded by landowners, the Drummond Estate.

The very latest development approved is the restoration and conversion of the historic but derelict Abbey Farm. Old buildings on the site, which would otherwise have fallen into further decay, will be transformed into homes and offices.

As the community grows residents have access to an increasing number of groups and events. Clubs run for parents with babies and toddlers, retirees and people interested in singing, crochet and learning Spanish, among others.

In addition there are one-off events running at the Hub, such as a Japanese night and pub quiz night. There is a regular community café, monthly market plus yearly events like Lubbfest.

Councillor Ben Taylor, Blaby District Council Portfolio Holder for Planning Delivery and Enforcement and Corporate Transformation, said: "It's exciting to see the progress being made at New Lubbesthorpe with all these milestones being achieved. I'm sure residents are delighted work is commencing on the new local centre. It will be a most welcome addition.

"With new homes under construction it's fantastic to see the neighbourhood growing and evolving. We now have more than 1,000 homes occupied and people report a real sense of community. Clubs and groups are thriving and residents enjoy social activities and events as well as sustainable travel options."

New Lubbesthorpe will eventually feature more than 4,000 new homes and is being developed in phases over two decades. Ground was broken in 2015 and the first families took residence in 2017.

Notes to editors

· The 394-hectare community development is being created in several phases over 20 years. It will eventually feature some 4,250 homes served by a mixed use district centre and two mixed use local centres with shops, leisure and health facilities.

· There will be a 21-hectare employment site, open spaces and woodlands, wildlife and biodiversity enhancements and new access points to improve walking and cycling into Leicester City.

· Works have been progressing at New Lubbesthorpe since 2015 when ground was firstbroken. The first homes were occupied in 2017.

· A new bridge over the M1 was built and opened in 2017 and the first of two primary schools opened to pupils in August 2019.

· New Lubbesthorpe has won top national awards, Infrastructure Project of the Year at the ProCon Leicestershire Awards 2018 - for the delivery of the M1 bridge, the Housing Initiative Award in the Local Government Chronicle Awards 2019, Skills, Apprenticeship Scheme Award at the East Midlands Insider Property Awards 2019 and overall winner of the RTPI East Midlands Planning Awards 2019 and the RTPI National Award for Excellence in Planning 2020.