Leicester area guides
For an easy way to find information about some key local areas in Leicester start by searching our Leicester area guide. Alphabetically ordered by area name you'll find all you want to know about Leicester - from local area highlights, the latest property to buy or rent, leading local Estate Agencies and lists of local area resources.
The largest city of England's East Midlands (based on population within the city limits); Leicester recorded 279,921 residents in the 2001 Census [1]. Found in the county of Leicestershire, the city's main industries include engineering, electronics, food processing, knitwear, printing and plastics. The UK's 13th largest city in terms of populace, Leicester's urban area includes the satellite towns of Birstall, Blaby, Braunstone Town, Glenfield, Thurmaston, and Syston. Information from the 2001 Census shows that unemployment in Leicester has been above the 3.35 per cent national average, with 4.88 per cent of Leicesterâ~@~Ys workforce lacking employment [2].
Leicester has fairly average annual temperatures, with July highs of 22ðC and January highs of 7ðC [3] . The city centre is mainly Victorian in architecture, with the Clock Tower landmark being the centre point of five inward routes - High Street, Churchgate, Belgrave Gate, Humberstone Gate, and Gallowtree Gate. Boasting the largest annual Diwali celebrations outside of India, Leicester also has the UK's second largest Caribbean Carnival, the Notting Hill Carnival in London being the largest.
Leicester sits on the Midland main line, providing access to Lincoln, Sheffield, York and Leeds (all north), and Bedford, Luton and London in the south. Leicester also offers train services to Cambridge (amongst others) to the east and destinations west that include Birmingham. Leicester has direct access to Stansted Airport by train and services to London city take just over an hour. Likewise Birmingham and Sheffield can be reached in about an hour, with Leeds two hours away by rail. Leicester has excellent access via motorway, with the M1 motorway and M69 motorway (leading to the major M6) running nearby the city. Leicester's nearest international airport is the East Midlands Airport in north west Leicestershire. The airport offers daily flights to major European cities such as Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin, and popular destinations further afield, including Mexico, Florida and Barbados.
Leicester Property Market
The average cost of a residential property in Leicester is ã144,884, with detached housing averaging ã253,322 and apartments at ã108,573. Those seeking terraced housing in the city can expect to pay an average of ã128, whilst semi-detached housing would set a buyer in Leicester back an average of ã145,20 [4] . The very centre of Leicester (LE1) offers mainly flats, which accounts for an overwhelming 80.8 per cent of accommodation. The city centre of Leicester is probably best suited to older couples or young people without families, with families perhaps preferring to opt for the Groby suburb and LE6 post code district, near the M1 motorway, which has a majority of detached housing stock. Syston (LE7) in the north east of the city and Whetstone (LE8) in the south east also offer detached housing; which accounts for nearly half of all the housing in both areas.Ã| Several other areas also offer suitable housing for families, with semi-detached housing making up much of the houses in Broughton Astley (LE9) in the south west of the city, Hinckley (LE10) further out, near the M69 motorway, and Loughborough (LE11) to the north of the city centre. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the University of Leicesterâ~@~Ys presence in the area, teraced and semi-detached houses are common in the LE2 post code, south of the city centre, such as in the suburbs of Highfields and Knighton. Victorian townhouses also feature, often divided into flats. Ã| With the Walkers Stadium (Leicester City FC's ground) on Filbert Way, the Welford Road rugby ground (Leicester Tigers RUFC), the County Grounds (cricket) on Grace Road, Leicestershire Golf Club and Leicester Racecourse all in the district, the LE2 post code is definitely a good base for sporting enthusiasts.