Leicester Forest East

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Leicester Forest East or LFE is a settlement in Leicestershire, west of Leicester, straddling the M1 motorway. It is part of the Blaby district.

LFE is a popular location among commuters and young families. It was developed primarily between 1920 and 1985 - seeing major developments constructed along the Hinckley Road (A47) and to the south-east of the M1 throughout the 1930s. Large scale housing developments took place in the 1960s, to the north-east and west of the M1 motorway. More recently a large housing project was constructed in the late 1980s at the western edge of the settlement.

There are local shopping facilities at the eastern end of the community, including a newsagent, a post office, a bank, and a small supermarket with a cash-dispenser; there are also some small local shops, a library and a petrol garage on the western end. A medical centre housing a general practitioners, a pharmacy and a dentist's practice is situated on the east side.

There are two pubs with hotels - both on the A47, one adjacent to the M1 motorway overbridge called The Forest Park Inn. The other is a much older establishment called The Red Cow. Both serve food and offer accommodation.

There is one main place of Christian worship - St. Andrews, an ecumenical church with Anglican and Methodist congregations. A Roman Catholic congregation also meet here, and there is an evangelical free chapel in the building. There is also The Forest Chapel near-by, where a playgroup and Day Care centre run from.

Transport links in Leicester Forest East are excellent. There are bus services to Leicester, Hinckley, Nuneaton and other local destinations. Bus services are operated by [Stagecoach][1] and [[Arriva][2]]. There is also a park and ride service from Meynells Gorse on the eastern edge of LFE to the city centre. LFE does not have a railway station, although a railway does run through the area, carrying freight. Road links are similarly excellent, with the A47 bisecting the community - running to Hinckley, Birmingham and Leicester. There is good access to the A46 road where it bypasses Leicester, and from there to the M1 and M69.

There are two primary schools in LFE, Holmfield Primary School and Stafford Leys Primary School. Secondary education will typically continue at either Winstanley High School in Braunstone, or South Charnwood High School.

Most people know LFE for Leicester Forest East motorway service station on the M1 motorway, however there is no legal public access for vehicles to the motorway from within LFE (although many have been known to use the slip-road, which is reserved for service station employees and emergency vehicles, as a means of getting on and off the M1). Proposals for the widening of the M1 at the end around 2010 would result in the closure of this service station and the widening of the local stretches of the M1.