What it's like to live in Wigston

Social rents in the Oadby and Wigston council area are modest by national standards. For 2024/25 the average weekly figures were around £86 for a one bed, £99 for a two bed and £107 for a three bed. Your own rent will depend on the landlord and the property, so always check the figure on the advert.

Oadby and Wigston Borough Council is by far the biggest social landlord locally with around 1,178 homes. Platform Housing Limited has about 223, The Riverside Group Limited 141, Paragon Asra Housing Limited 124 and Sage Homes RP Limited 78. So most swaps here will involve the council or one of those associations.

The stock is small for the size of the area. In 2024-25 the council let 45 social homes and nine council homes changed hands through mutual exchange, while 1,207 households sat on the housing register. A register is not a simple queue, but those numbers do explain why exchanging is often the most practical way to move into Wigston.

Families are well served. All Saints Church of England Primary School is about 0.1 miles from the centre, with The Meadow Community Primary School, Saint John Fisher Catholic Voluntary Academy and Glenmere Community Primary School all within three quarters of a mile. Birkett House School is close by too.

For older children, Wigston Academy is around half a mile away and Wigston College roughly 0.7 miles, with Gartree High School and Tudor Grange Samworth Academy about 1.4 miles out. Wigston Birkett House Community Special School, a short walk from the centre, serves children with additional needs. Several schools within walking distance is a real advantage if you are juggling more than one drop-off.

Beyond school, there is a Sure Start Children's Centre near the town centre, the Wigston Study Centre, Freer Community Centre and a Step Out Youth Group about a mile away. Peace Memorial Park is the obvious spot for after-school running about, with Blaby Road Park and Iliffe Avenue Park as alternatives. Wigston Library is a free, warm place to take children at the weekend.

Wigston is a town you can largely walk. The library, a run of supermarkets, pharmacies, gyms and pubs are all within a few hundred metres of the centre, and the nearest primary school is barely a minute away. If you don't drive, that matters more than almost anything else.

For rail, South Wigston station is about 1.2 miles away, which is a walk of roughly 25 minutes or a short bus or car trip. There is no station in Wigston itself, so check the timings and the walk before you commit if you plan to commute by train.

By car you are close to Leicester, with Oadby a mile or so east and the city to the north. Buses run between Wigston, South Wigston, Oadby and Leicester, and most people here use a mix of bus and car. If you rely on buses, it is worth standing at the stop nearest any home you are offered and checking how often services actually come.

Green space is spread about nicely. Peace Memorial Park is right in the middle of town, and within a mile you also have Brocks Hill, Knighton Park, Iliffe Avenue Park and Blaby Road Park. Between them you can get a decent walk most days without driving anywhere.

For exercise indoors, Wigston Pool and Fitness Centre is about 0.7 miles away, and there is a cluster of smaller gyms in and around the centre including Clubfit 24, Gymophobics Wigston, Unique Physique and Fit Together. Wigston Library is on the doorstep.

Evening and weekend life is pub-led rather than flashy. The Two Steeples, The William Wygston, The Tap And Barrel and the Wigston Shake Bar are all in the centre, along with the Wigston & District Conservative Club. The nearest cinema is an Odeon about 2.7 miles away. For anything bigger, Leicester city centre is the obvious next step, and plenty of people here treat it as their night out.

The honest answer is that detailed employment figures for the Oadby and Wigston borough are not set out here, so treat this section as a steer rather than a full picture. What is clear is the geography: Wigston sits on the edge of Leicester, and the city is where a great many residents work.

Locally, the town centre itself provides jobs in retail and services, with supermarkets including Aldi and Sainsbury's, pharmacies, gyms and pubs. Schools, the library and community centres are employers too, as is the health sector nearby, with Sturdee Community Rehabilitation Hospital around 1.7 miles away and Spire Leicester Hospital about 2.3 miles.

If your job is in Leicester, think about the commute before you accept a swap. By car it is short. By public transport, factor in the bus or the walk to South Wigston station, especially for early starts and late finishes.