A Guide to Living in Leicester

Leicester is an increasingly popular option for property hunters seeking homes in the Midlands. House prices were enjoying a boom prior to the uncertainties of 2020 and are expected to bounce back thanks to the city’s strong economy. Historically connected to the textiles industry, retailers like Next, Asos and New Look have major sites in the city. Firms like KPMG, HSBC and British Gas also have offices there. Walker’s Crisps is also based in Leicester, operating the world’s largest crisp factory!

4.74

Average Location Score

Excellent

78%

Very Good

16%

Average

Disappointing

Very Poor

Best places to live in Leicester

HomeViews Top Rated Development ranking takes into account the Star Rating and HomeViews Transparency Rating of every development in the area

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Areas to consider

The centre of Leicester is undergoing significant redevelopment. Many new developments are providing high quality housing within easy reach of the amenities and transport options the centre provides.

The Wullcomb rental development by Way of Life was rated by residents as one of the top 3 BTR (Build to Rent) developments in the UK in 2020. This highly popular building took third place in the 2020 HomeViews BTR awards with an impressive overall score of 4.88 out of 5. However, new BTR developments are currently in construction in Leicester, and will seek to challenge The Wullcomb for its crown!

Outside central Leicester there are a number of very popular suburbs and commuter towns that attract large numbers of buyers and tenants. Syston is a commuter town 3 miles outside Leicester that offers suburban living with easy transport connections into the city and also to Nottingham, Lincoln and Loughborough.

Glenfield, Oadby and Braunstone are also very popular locations. These peripheral towns and villages offer excellent value, attractive properties and plenty of green spaces.

Transport and amenities

It location right in the centre of England makes Leicester one of the UK’s best-connected cities. Leicester station provides swift rail services to Birmingham, Sheffield and further afield via CrossCountry and East Midlands Trains. Direct trains to London St Pancras take just over an hour to reach the capital.

By car, the M1 motorway provides extremely easy access to London to the south and Leeds and Sheffield in the north. The east and west of the country are also within easy reach via the M40, M6, A1, etc.

Leicester also offers good transport links to frequent flyers, with East Midlands Airport located within a 30-minute drive of the city. Direct flights connect to national and European destinations. Airlines such as Ryanair, TUI and Jet2.com operate from this convenient local hub.

Reviews

History buffs like me will appreciate that cultural attractions are round the corner: Leicester Cathedral, the King Richard lll museum and the Jewry Wall.
– ZC, Verified Resident on HomeViews, The Wullcomb LE1

The Wullcomb is unlike anything else in Leicester. Located in the heart of the city centre, local amenities from one of the largest shopping centres (Highcross Shopping Centre) in the midlands at your doorstep, to fine dining and essential public transport, there’s nothing which can rival this level of luxury and quality.
– Arvinder Singh, Verified Resident on HomeViews, The Wullcomb LE1

Great location with very nice atmosphere and amazing people. Made so many new friends thanks to the wonderful people who actually live here as well. There is a lot of very nice bars around as the property is located in the cultural quarters. And there are many shops near by.
– Claudia Ruszkowska, Verified Resident on HomeViews, Queen Street Apartments LE1

Reviews in Leicester

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A homely and lovely place to live

Verified Resident

Review Date Sep 2021

The location is great. Wullcomb is very close to the town centre but distant enough to not be disturbed by the noise and busyness of town centre.

Please review your development:

The building is lovingly designed. You can tell there was an intention of creating a community behind it, and not just a block of flats. The rooftop terrace and indoor communal living rooms are a great space to hang out, especially when working from home. It would be great if we had a gym. What I appreciate the most is the 24hr concierge who are very helpful and reliable as well as making the place feel safe and secure.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Getting your post taken care of in your absence is icing on the cake. The concierge and management keep your post in a secure room and alert you. And you can pick it up when it’s convenient for you

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Management have been very helpful from the move in and throughout my stay over the years

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Manager Response

Wow, what an amazing review Idil, thank you so much for taking the time to give us feedback!
It is great to hear that you love the design & location of The Wullcomb, these are key points to consider when looking for somewhere to call home. It is fantastic that you have felt safe & secure during your stay, this is a reason lots of people choose to stay with us.
It sounds like you have appreciated & used our concierge service during your stay – we are always there for you 24 hours a day & 365 days a year if you need us. Your comments on the team & management are lovely to hear, thank you!
Thank you choosing to stay with us at The Wullcomb.

Very Positive living experience at The Wullcomb

Verified Resident

Review Date Sep 2021

I love how close it is to the center of town as well as where I work! I’m a student and it’s very helpful to be near the university whilst still enjoying being in the city center. One of the negatives would be that I live on the second floor and that when you have the windows open the street noise is a little loud however I have been living with that sound for the past year and that doesn’t really bother me.

Please review your development:

The overall design of the Wullcomb has aspects of scandic design which makes it feel very modern and homey at the same time. It is very well maintained and VERY clean which is amazing! The facilities which the building have from the social rooms to the deck upstairs really helps break up the flats to allow for people to meet each other and have fun with friends or family. Super conducive environment for anyone who lives here. The management team is always there to help when you need anything and are super friendly. You have the ability to make personal connections with them so they get to know you and they can help you in the best way possible.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

How many uni students live here, meaning that I could try and meet new people, as well as the price of the new gym that is going in downstairs.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Any issue that I have is usually fixed within a couple of days depending on what the issue is!

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Manager Response

Hi Jessica, thank you for the fantastic review!
It is lovely to hear you great comments about the building & the management team, this is very much appreciated. We really do try to know all of our residents personally, so it is nice you have picked up on this.
We have a very good mix of residents at The Wullcomb, currently around 30% are students & 70% professionals – but we love you all equally!
It is good to hear maintenance issues have been resolved quickly.
Thank you for choosing to stay at The Wullcomb, we love having you with us.

Good location, terrible management.

Verified Resident

Review Date Sep 2021

Location, very efficient.
Very close to the Leicester city centre.
Parking if not allocated at a cost, is plentiful but expensive.
Traffic noise is bad.
Lots of homeless shouting & fighting in the churchyard below the windows.

Please review your development:

Threatening behaviour from the building management. Numerous emails threatening to end my lease if I didn’t park in a certain place, if my dogs weren’t behaving or if my dogs defecated out the back even though it wasn’t myself.

Facilities are poor as most have been unusable since covid.

I’ve had a great number of emails threatening to end my tenancy, but not a single occasion has anybody asked if everything is ok with my accommodation. My extractor fan hasn’t worked since I moved in a year ago. To date, nobody has asked if the accommodation is satisfactory.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

The rooms get VERY hot in the summer and there’s no air con.
With hindsight, I wouldn’t have moved in.
The management has made this the worst experience.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Terribly.
I was very happy to meet for a conversation with Karl, the manager & he refused & gaslighted me essentially.
During covid, and being self employed, this caused me no end of stress.

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Manager Response

Hi Rhys, thank you for taking the time to leave a review of The Wullcomb and we are sorry to hear that you have been unhappy with the management throughout your tenancy.

We work very hard to ensure fair use of our visitors carpark in order to keep spaces free for residents or visitors of residents who are parking on an occasional basis. As you will know, we offer our residents and their visitors parking 3 times per week in the visitors carpark as long as a space is available. We feel that this policy is very fair, especially considering that city centre parking is often expensive and there is no additional charge to our residents for this.

Regarding our pet policy, whilst we are a pet friendly building we do ask all pet owners to be responsible and to pick up their dog mess and ensure that dogs are kept on a lead at all times when travelling through communal areas of the building. Again, we stand by these policies as we feel that these are fair and allow us to keep the building a pleasant place for all residents.

I have checked our records and cannot see that we have received any reports of your extractor fan not working. If you could please get in touch with us to confirm whether you are referring to your Vent Axia unit, your oven extractor hood or the extractor fan in your bathroom then we will of course arrange for this to be investigated and repaired for you. To confirm, any repairs can be reported via the 24/7 concierge team, the tenant portal or via email to thewullcomb@wayoflife.com. This information would have also been included in your welcome pack when you moved in.

We always welcome feedback, whether it be positive or negative and take any constructive comments on board as we are constantly aiming to improve the building and service for our residents. I can see that you have previously renewed your tenancy with us and we hope that you will choose to do so again so that we can build a more positive relationship with you.

Good but could be better

Verified Resident

Review Date Aug 2021

Great shops and restaurants.

A big downside is that it’s far frkm good supermarkets. You have to drive or get food delivery. I don’t drive so it’s an issue dor me

Please review your development:

Facilities are great, building management and property management team are really helpful and friendly. They made moving in really easy, and are always friendly and try to help.

The terrace area is great. It is however annoyijg that we can’t use the pizza oven, BBQ and fire pit. We’re paying quite a bit of money so we should be able to use them

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

That the bbq, pizza oven and fire pit and greenhouse area can’t be used. Quite poor because they are big features and we get No use of it and no compensation

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Immediate response! My window was leaking when it was raining and they looked at it straight away

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Manager Response

Thanks a lot for taking the time to submit a review of The Wullcomb.

We are really happy to hear that you are happy with the whole site team and that everyone has been welcoming and helpful. We pride ourselves on offering excellent customer service and your lovely comments will be passed on to the whole team.

Regarding the use of the appliances on 5th floor roof terrace, we are currently working on implementing a process which will ensure the safe use of these appliances as the health and safety of our residents is our top priority. We expect to have an update on the use of these appliances very shortly and we thank you for your patience in the meantime.

Thank you again for choosing to live at The Wullcomb!