Eyres Monsell
52°35′20″N 1°09′05″W / 52.588919°N 1.151419°W
Eyres Monsell is a former council estate in the southern suburbs of Leicester, UK. The area is defined by Saffron Lane to the east, the Birmingham to Peterborough railway to the south, Lutterworth Road to the west, and Glenhills Way to the north. Although located in the far south-west corner of suburban Leicester, the area is under the administration of the city council rather than the county council as many of its neighbouring estates are.
The land was purchased by the corporation of Leicester for housing development purposes for £40,500 by compulsory purchase order in the early 1950s. The area takes its name from the previous land owner, Bolton Eyres Monsell. The largely rural area was purchased with an aim to avoid the spatial limitations that had led to the foreboding tower blocks and intimidating alleyways of inner city developments and to provide a greener and more open plan estate. Eyres Monsell would become Leicester's second largest estate to be built after World War Two.[1]
Today, Eyres Monsell has a population of approximately 11230 people over 4669 homesteads. Proportionately more council homes in Eyres Monsell have been bought by their owners than in any other part of the city. Although, almost 50% of homes in the area are still rented from the city council.[2]
It is also noteworthy that as a suburb of Leicester, one of the most multi-racial cities in the UK, the population of Eyres Monsell is almost 95% white according to 2001 Census data.[3]
References
- ^ Jordan, Christine (2003). The Illustrated History of Leicester's Suburbs. Breedon Books Publishing. pp. 89–92. ISBN 1-85983-348-9.
- ^ "Area Profile 6".
- ^ "Area Profile 6".