Regeneration opens doors to opportunity for Leicester students and graduates

Leicester is offering its students and graduates new and exciting opportunities as part of the city’s regeneration.

With improvements put in motion by the Leicester Regeneration Company and others, new opportunities for careers, in-city living and leisure mean staying in the area is more and more attractive.

Leicester is being transformed, with five key projects planned for the city, including a new business quarter, a science and technology park, retail expansion, a new residential community and waterfront development.

Thousands of Job Opportunities at Science Park

A lack of high technology jobs in the past meant many graduates felt they had to leave the city to further their careers, but that is about to change.

One of the key areas in the regeneration masterplan is Abbey Meadows, the area around the National Space Centre, with a major new science park at its centre.

Work has already begun on the project. Eventually the park will create over 2,000 jobs ideally suited for high technology graduates from Leicester’s two universities.

The two universities offer world-class expertise in biotechnology, medicine, space science, design and engineering. The science park will open up new opportunities for the universities to develop new businesses and allow their students to shine in their specialisms.

New Business Quarter Creates More Career Choice

The New Business Quarter, already partly built at the former Charles Street police station, is designed to attract the best professional firms to move to Leicester.

It’s Grade A office space, and the first company – a prominent firm of business advisers - has already signed up to move in. Eventually, the area around the railway station and the former police station will be home to around 4,000 upmarket office jobs.

40 per cent of the quarter now has planning permission or beyond.

Exciting New Places to Live

New places to live are being developed in several areas of Leicester. The Waterside will contain more than 3,000 homes as well as leisure facilities and jobs, along Leicester’s 11 miles of river and canalside – from Frog Island to the Jewry Wall.

A total of 420 homes have already been completed there, with more on the way, including plans for an inspiring pair of towers by the river, designed by world famous architect Ian Simpson.

There will also be thousands of new places to live near the National Space Centre and, eventually, a new urban village in the Lee Circle area.

Smarter City Centre, Better Shopping,
New Cinema and Restaurants

The expansion of Leicester’s retail core is another exciting development. It includes doubling the size of The Shires Shopping Centre and accommodating one of the country’s largest John Lewis stores.

The shopping centre is set to re-launch in 2008 and will provide 600,000 square feet of new shops, bars and restaurants, as well as a multiplex cinema and a 24-hour accessible pedestrian street.

The performing arts centre at the Haymarket and the cultural quarter are also under development.

University Improvements

Both universities are themselves part of the regeneration of the city. The University of Leicester is undergoing £300 million of development, including a library expansion and the new Henry Wellcome Building, while £250 million is being invested in projects at De Montfort University.

Be part of Leicester’s future

The cranes across Leicester’s skyline are proof that England’s tenth largest city is improving rapidly. In fact, surveys show it is undergoing more regeneration than any comparable city. With a forecast £3 billion to be invested in the next few years, exciting new prospects for young people are emerging all the time.

Find out more about the Masterplan for Leicester>