52°38′17″N 1°03′36″W / 52.638°N 1.060°W / 52.638; -1.060

Thurncourt
Population10,596 (2011)
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLEICESTER
Postcode districtLE5
Dialling code0116
PoliceLeicestershire
FireLeicestershire
AmbulanceEast Midlands
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Leicestershire

Thurncourt is an electoral ward and administrative division of the city of Leicester, England. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 10,596.[1] It comprises the suburb and housing estate of Thurnby Lodge in eastern Leicester.

Geography

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Thurncourt is bounded by the wards of Evington to the south, and Humberstone & Hamilton to the north.[2] Roughly, it consists of the area inside the city boundary which is north of the Uppingham Road, east of the A563 outer ringroad, and south of the Scraptoft Lane.

The area south of the main shops on Thurncourt Road, towards the parallel railway embankment, was originally mainly unlandscaped country land with a natural stream running through it. The stream divides at a point opposite Thurncourt Road shops into two further tributaries, one which continues on towards the city and the other taking a route southwards under tunnels beneath the railway embankment. This natural area was extensively landscaped in several phases by the Leicester City Council and a floodplain added up until the present day, destroying a natural fertile habitat for the then common water voles and small fresh water fish found within the habitat.

It is near but not part of Thurnby (to the south-east), after which it is named. Other nearby places are Humberstone (north and west), Scraptoft (east), Evington (south) and Goodwood, Leicestershire (south).

History

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Thurnby Lodge is a council estate built from the early 1950s onwards to facilitate the central Leicester slum clearance until the 1960s. The area west of Bowhill Grove was the last phase of the estate stretching to Nursery Road at its most westerly point. Two, three and four-bedroomed council houses were built in brick and concrete block, terraced with large rear and smaller front gardens.

Many of the houses on the estate have transferred to private ownership under the right to buy, resulting in a large variety of upgrades and extensions to the original council properties.

Amenities and facilities

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The popular public houses are the Stirrup Cup on Thurncourt Road and at its northerly point the White House Inn on Scraptoft Lane which is part of the Whetherspoons group, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Education

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There are 2 primary schools on the estate. Thurnby Mead and Willowbrook Mead, both of which are run by Rushy Mead Academy.

Transport

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The estate was serviced by Midland Red buses, routes L37 and L38 whose terminus were on Thurncourt Road opposite the shops.

Buses that currently serve the area are: Arriva Midlands services 53 and 56/56a, First Leicester services 38/38a and Centrebus services 40 (Orbital)

Politics

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Thurncourt (2)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Allen 1,494 27%
Conservative Caroline Scuplak 1,219 22%
Labour Rikki Thomas 771 14%
Labour Gary Nicolle-Anderiesz 730 13%
BNP Clive Potter 548 10%
Independent Maurice Williams 263 5%
Green Janet Elisita 213 4%
Green Murray Frankland 174 3%
UKIP Margaret Green 113 2%
UKIP Stephen Ingall 109 2%
Turnout 3,112
Conservative hold Swing
Conservative hold Swing

References

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  1. ^ "City of Leicester ward population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  2. ^ Leicester City Council. "Ward Maps". Retrieved 11 October 2011.