City of Leicester & Leicestershire - The Good and Historical Stuff

[kenny]

7 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

BBC saying 623,000 population.

 

Which would make us the 4th biggest city in UK, bigger than Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool.

 

I can see the case for annexing areas with no obvious countryside between the city and them, eg Oadby, Wigston, Glenfield, Birstall and a few others, but some are a bit weird.

 

People need to realise it will happen eventuall. Braunstone, Aylestone and Knighton are all within the current city boundaries and were once their own villages.

 

I could fully foresee Nottingham, Derby and Leicester merging into one megacity in the distant future.

It's the Barratt dream.

 

Small orange-brick houses stretching as far as the eye can see, linked by endless winding roads. Every pavement lined with parked cars because public transport is hopelessly inadequate for vast, low-density estates.

Seas of block paving dominate front gardens, driveways and shared spaces — hard surfaces replacing greenery while adding to heat, runoff and the sense of a place designed around cars rather than people.

 

At every corner, a fenced-off depression doubling as a drainage swale. Tiny saplings planted here and there as a token gesture towards replacing the countryside and wildlife that were cleared to build it all.

 

A masterclass in creating car dependency while calling it sustainable.

 

 

[davieG]

21 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

but some are a bit weird.

Syston & Queniborough?

[Stadt]

It mean Leicestershire would have what, 6 proper railway stations? 

Harborough, Melton and Hinckley, Sileby, Barrow and Loughborough.

 

Parkway and Bottesford don’t count. So about 500,000 people - it’s not as if the county will receive any transport funding to readdress this either.

 

The Ivanhoe line and restoring a station at Kibworth are feasible 

[MattFox]

1 hour ago, Stadt said:

The County Council loses a huge proportion of its tax base and still has a vast amount of land, buildings, highways to administer. Likely has a much higher average age now so the social care bill will be crippling.

 

A Labour national government giving a Labour (for now) ran City some of the most productive non-London/SE LAs in England is just pork barrel crap.

 

The city council already passed their housing allocations on, people in suburbs like Anstey are already fed up with overdevelopment. 

Yeah taking Blaby out the County basically kneecaps it economically 

 

 

[Free Falling Foxes]

1 hour ago, davieG said:

I worked there from 1977 to 1995. It was Marconi Radar Systems by then before becoming Marconi Command and Control.

 

If you look closely, you'll notice the left hand side of the site was designed as the front of the building. This was because when it was built in the late 50s, it was already envisaged that a new road (A563) would be constructed to feed the newly built M1 (J21)

 

The roads at the lower part of the photograph are Liberty Road and Scudamore Road. The latter of which now continues to a roundabout on the aforementioned A563.

 

Many of the buildings on the left hand half of the photograph/site remain with countless further development including residential, commercial and industrial, taking place in the area. One noticeable exception on the site is the taller square building towards the top left of the photograph which was known as the 'High Test Bay'

 

Unfortunately, what does remain as a green open space in that area, the old Western Golf Course, is also due to be concreted over.

Edited yesterday at 11:07 by Free Falling Foxes

[kenny]

51 minutes ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

I worked there from 1977 to 1995. It was Marconi Radar Systems by then before becoming Marconi Command and Control.

 

If you look closely, you'll notice the left hand side of the site was designed as the front of the building. This was because when it was built in the late 50s, it was already envisaged that a new road (A563) would be constructed to feed the newly built M1 (J21)

 

The roads at the lower part of the photograph are Liberty Road and Scudamore Road. The latter of which now continues to a roundabout on the aforementioned A563.

 

Many of the buildings on the left hand half of the photograph/site remain with countless further development including residential, commercial and industrial, taking place in the area. One noticeable exception on the site is the taller square building towards the top left of the photograph which was known as the 'High Test Bay'

 

Unfortunately, what does remain as a green open space in that area, the old Western Golf Course, is also due to be concreted over.

Only Tory and Reform voters play golf so that fine IMO. The golf courses should all go and be replaced with more economically accessible and diverse sports.

[leicsmac]

1 minute ago, kenny said:

Only Tory and Reform voters play golf so that fine IMO. The golf courses should all go and be replaced with more economically accessible and diverse sports.

As well as being one of the largest sporting consumers of the most vital resource on the planet - fresh water. 

[Free Falling Foxes]

5 minutes ago, kenny said:

Only Tory and Reform voters play golf so that fine IMO. The golf courses should all go and be replaced with more economically accessible and diverse sports.

Since Western Golf Course closed approx 10 years ago, it has become an even more wonderful green space.

You see all sorts of wildlife there and it's so picturesque. 

Arguably, it is a more beautiful open space than any of the city parks.

It would make a truly wonderful city Arboretum . 

Edited yesterday at 11:56 by Free Falling Foxes

[kenny]

43 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

As well as being one of the largest sporting consumers of the most vital resource on the planet - fresh water. 

Lets talk about fishing next, another pursuit I don't like but managed to catch one anyway.

[leicsmac]

1 minute ago, kenny said:

Lets talk about fishing next, another pursuit I don't like but managed to catch one anyway.

Never understood the appeal myself tbh. 

[kenny]

7 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

Never understood the appeal myself tbh. 

Me neither, but like golf, other people enjoy it and its an outdoor activity that should be encouraged.

[leicsmac]

Just now, kenny said:

Me neither, but like golf, other people enjoy it and its an outdoor activity that should be encouraged.

Right.

 

And just to be clear, my initial reply was intended to be as facetious as your own. 

[kenny]

1 minute ago, leicsmac said:

Right.

 

And just to be clear, my initial reply was intended to be as facetious as your own. 

It was a beauty.

[leicsmac]

8 minutes ago, kenny said:

It was a beauty.

It really wasn't (far too dry), but I appreciate the compliment anyway. 

 

Anyhow, back on topic, it's tragic that the area under discussion is being concreted over when rewilding it is an entirely viable option. 

[Trav Le Bleu]

3 hours ago, davieG said:

Syston & Queniborough?

And even Croxton.

 

The MP for the area that Croxton is in was on Radio Leicester and mispronounced it as "Crockston". Shows how much she actually cares.

 

FYI, it's pronounced "Crowston".