A new neighbourhood off Heacham Drive
BREE Construction, then operating as Partner Construction, delivered a sixty-home new-build development off Heacham Drive on the edge of Leicester, with the new street reached from a junction on Chelwood Lane. Built with Balfour Beatty and completed in 2022, the scheme brought a range of modern family homes to the East Midlands city, laid out around new tree-lined streets and pockets of retained green space.
The development was planned in line with Leicester City Council's local plan, keeping existing vegetation and mature greenery where possible and weaving new public footpaths and cycle routes through the site to connect residents with the surrounding area.
Homes and tenure
The scheme provided sixty homes in a range of house types suited to first-time buyers, growing families and downsizers. Twenty per cent of the homes were affordable, split between First Homes offered at a discount to local buyers and homes for Affordable Rent.
Every home was designed to the Building Regulations M4(2) 'accessible and adaptable' standard, with a number built to the higher M4(3) wheelchair-user standard.
Designed for everyday life
Each home was fitted with an electric-vehicle charging point, and many carry roof-mounted solar panels. Sustainable drainage features were built into the layout to store and manage surface water, while street trees, retained hedgerows and new planting supported biodiversity across the site.
The site was laid out as a connected neighbourhood with through routes for walking and cycling, rather than a single row of houses. The scheme added energy-efficient homes to Leicester's housing supply, and was one of a number of new-build housing projects BREE has delivered across the Midlands.
