Residents start to move into former 'ghost town'

Deputy city mayor Elly Cutkelvin said Hospital Close had stood empty and unloved for far too long

Residents have started moving into a previously abandoned street in Leicester.

Leicester City Council bought Hospital Close in 2021 after the estate was virtually abandoned two years before, when the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust said it could not afford to upgrade the homes to modern standards.

The authority said it was transforming 174 disused and derelict former nurses' homes near Leicester General Hospital in Evington.

In total, the city council will create 135 new affordable family homes in what it described as "one of the largest new council housing estates to be created in decades".

In recent years the site has become a magnet for anti-social behaviour, but the council previously said it hoped the scheme would not just tackle the problems plaguing the area, but also help it meet growing demand for council homes.

The first phase includes the overhaul of 35 two or three-bedroomed semi-detached homes, while the second phase of regeneration on the site will create the other 100 homes.

Lovell Partnerships has been contracted to undertake the work, which is due to begin early next month and involves remodelling 13 blocks of former nurses' halls of residence into self-contained two-bedroom council flats.

The second phase will also include remodelling 14 flats with adaptations for disabled people, with the overall scheme due to be complete in early 2027.

New planting, landscaping and play areas will also be created, the city council added, and the road will be resurfaced.

Deputy city mayor Elly Cutkelvin, who leads on housing and neighbourhoods, said: "Hospital Close has stood empty and unloved for far too long, and it's fantastic to see it being transformed into a new neighbourhood with 135 much-needed new council homes for families.

"It's been a challenging project, but it is hugely encouraging to see what has been achieved so far. The first houses are now complete, look great and have welcomed their first tenants."

The cost of the regeneration scheme will be covered using money from Right to Buy receipts along with some borrowing, the city council said, the costs of which will in turn be paid back by rental income from the new council homes.