Building work has begun on new homes to replace unwanted Leicestershire bedsits that stood empty for a decade. The bulldozers moved in earlier this year to knock down the old sheltered accommodation at St Michael’s Court, in Thurmaston, with builders now hard at work constructing nine bungalows on the Melton Road site.
Charnwood Borough Council authorised the demolition of St Michael’s Court at its plans committee last year, after units in the 54-year-old building were described as “difficult to let”. The council said the replacement bungalows should be completed by early next year, with the new properties having been designed for people with mobility issues and including “dementia friendly” features, such as large windows, layouts that are easy to navigate and level access to front doors and showers.
In its 2023 planning application for the scheme, the council said the ageing St Michael’s Court complex “no longer meets the needs of older tenants”. It cited the accommodation’s shared bathrooms and long corridors as reasons for it being unsuitable for some prospective tenants.
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In 2022, LeicestershireLive revealed the council properties that had stood empty the longest in Charnwood, with a number of St Michael’s Court homes included on the list. Four of the bedsits in the complex had been empty for longer than a decade at the time.
When members of the council’s plans committee approved the replacement of St Michael's Court in February last year, Councillor Rhys Corey Lowsley said it was “nice to see a brownfield site being regenerated”, and that the new designs were “a lot more appealing” than the old sheltered accommodation.
Coun David Snartt praised the application as being “in line with what people need today”. He added: “We’re looking at our sheltered accommodation, which we’ve struggled to get people to go into. Being a firm believer of bungalows I think this is an opportunity that’s going to serve the local area well.” Coun David Infield called it “an excellent proposal” that “meets a real need”.
In a statement issued by the council this week, Coun Jennifer Tillotson, CBC’s lead member for housing, said: “The redevelopment of St Michael’s Court is starting to take shape, and it is exciting to see it progress. The demolition of the old buildings has been completed, and I am looking forward to watching the next stage of the development take place."
The council said the foundations for the bungalows were being built, and that damp proofing for some of the properties had already been completed. The building work is being carried out by Mercer Building Solutions, which, along with the council, is providing regular updates to local residents on the scheme’s progress.
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