Belgrave Flyover

Belgrave  Station

The Belgrave Road Railway Station was located near where Belgrave Road meets the junction with Abbey Park. This brought the Great Northern Railway into the city and, for many, was the starting point of holidays to the East Coast resorts. Passenger services ended in 1953, the last excursion ran on September 9, 1961, with goods traffic ceasing in 1964. 

Prior to 1973 Belgrave Road and Belgrave Gate was linked as one large road but the development of a new flyover led to the Belgrave circle being created. A roundabout was created allowing traffic towards 4 different directions.  Traffic also flowed into Belgrave from Abbey Park Street where the school and Wolsey building were located.

The station at Belgrave in it's heyday

Construction of a Flyover 

The Belgrave flyover was built between 1973 and 1974. Houses and shops were demolished, including Vic Berry’s scrapyard which briefly stood on the old Railway Goods yard. The flyover consisted of a series of huge concrete posts, placed in pairs. These held up pre-cast concrete beams, manufactured in Gloucester, on which the road was placed.

The flyover’s southern end began from where Olphin Street now leads into the present Leicester College, and came down near where the Railway Station’s ticket hall once stood. A roundabout was created underneath to allow traffic to go in four other directions. On the middle stood a large fountain, in which children regularly played.

Sculptural Gateway in 2024

Demolition

The demolition of Belgrave Flyover took place in 2014. Residents gathered to say farewell to the flyover, first taking part in a short ceremony involving Christian and Hindu prayers for the workers’ safety, and for the plants and animals that would be affected by the demolition.

Four 70-tonne “muncher” machines then got to work. Once cleared of rubble, the area became an open green space in the middle of a roundabout.

In 2023 a piece of public art, called “Sculptural Gateway”, was created on the site to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Ugandan Asians making new homes in Leicester after the expulsion of 1973.