The UK's huge new £450m mega-town - first pictures from above as 4,500 homes built

A new affordable housing area is to be constructed as part of a huge site in Leicestershire. There will be around 4,500 houses under new plans within the a 900 acre site. Thorpebury, in Leicestershire, will include shops, healthcare facilities and sports pitches and is set to cost around £450 million.

The town will be used by businesses and other important services but building will take more than a decade before the new area is completed. The housing development will provide a mixture of starter homes and it will be known as Thorpebury-in-the-Limes.

As part of the plans, a huge new school will be built as part of the community. The town of Thorpebury was given initial planning approval in 2016 and building work will take place north of Hamilton and east of Thurmaston.

Included in the proposals was a new school for up to 420 pupils, with Leicestershire County Council now submitting the full details to Charnwood Borough Council.

The two-storey building will have a 42-space car park, playing fields and sports pitches. There will also be cycle storage on site.

There will also be a care facility for the elderly built in the area. The building work will feature extensive high-quality landscaping and 30-acres of green spaces.

There will include sports pitches, play areas, parkland and new walking and cycling routes.

The development of the new town comes as the UK Government unveiled a £100million plan to battle the housing crisis by training 40,000 builders by 2029.

Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, warned the housing crisis was being made worse by a lack of construction workers.

On its website, Thorpebury says: "Thorpebury will provide a legacy over the next two decades; from much-needed new homes, including affordable homes for local people, to jobs, community facilities and extensive, accessible green open spaces for all to use."