Long Harbour, the alternative real estate asset manager, has exchanged contracts with the Sowden Group to deliver 297 homes for rent on the site adjacent to the Highcross car park in Vaughan Way in the centre of Leicester.

The site, which is now vacant, has recently been the subject of an archaeological dig followed by an engineering exercise to prepare the site ready for piling, all carried out by the Sowden Group.

The site lies within Leicester’s strategic regeneration area, and is directly opposite the new extension of the High Cross shopping centre.

In response to the current demand for homes to rent in the city, Sowden and Long Harbour brought forward new proposals which will substantially increase the number of homes available to the city’s private rental sector.

The site previously had planning permission for a smaller number of homes and more retail outlets. Following a comprehensive re-design with a specific focus on the private rented sector, a new planning consent was granted by Leicester City Council in March 2017. The scheme includes 297 residential units, associated ground floor retail units, car parking spaces and a private residents’ amenity space as well as rooftop gardens and a sympathetic ‘green buffer’ with All Saints, the adjacent church.

Long Harbour will fund the development through The Long Harbour Income Fund, its £214m institutional fund focused on delivering high quality residential homes for rent.

Construction on the empty site is expected to start in the early summer of 2017.

About the Sowden Group

Established in 1950, the Leicester city centre-based Sowden Group has been, and continues to be, involved in some of the biggest regeneration projects in the centre of Leicester, providing much-needed Grade A office space, retail units and city centre accommodation