ounces of gold. The village was a small one until the arrival of the Great Central Railway in 1899. From then onwards development has continued and still continues to-day. Between 1901 and the 2001 the population grew from 611 to over 11,000. Hallam Fields A new housing development called 'Hallam Fields' commenced construction in 2006 and was well advanced by 2008. It occupies land to the west of the A6, between the 'Gates' estate and the A46. The development will take ten years to complete, consisting of up to 900 properties including schools, shops, offices, industrial units and a fire station. It has been described as a mini Poundbury. By April 2010 it had 11 streets. These are Archdale Close, Bridge Green, Dale Close, Far Pastures Road, Halfpenny Close, Hallam Fields Road, Little Connery Lees, Pinfold Close, Brook Furlong Drive, Palmer Square and Lady Augusta Road. North of the development, on the roundabout connecting the A46 and A6 is a new service area with a KFC, a Shell petrol station and an Ibis Budget. Places and buildings within the village Schools: Highcliffe primary school Riverside primary school Hallam fields primary school The Cedars Academy Note: Longslade Community College and Stonehill high school merged to become Cedars Academy Shops: One main supermarket One garden centre Various shops along Sibson road Community facilities: Library on Wanlip Lane Parish Council offices Parks: Watermead Country Park School Lane recreational park Harrogate park Golf club: Birstall Golf Club - founded in 1901 - one of the first golf clubs in Leicestershire Pubs / clubs Birstall has 3 pubs and 3 social clubs. The White Horse Pub dates from the time the canal was constructed Transport The main village areas of Wanlip Lane and Harrowgate Drive are served by Centrebus service 22A while the A6 corridor is served by buses between Leicester and Loughborough operated by Kinchbus service 2 (until 4 September 2022), Skylink and Arriva Midlands services 126 and 127. The Birstall Park and Ride service is at the northern end of the village and is operated by Roberts Travel Group. Neighbouring villages The closest village to Birstall is Wanlip, a smaller village, with the village of Rothley being the next closest. The villages of Thurmaston and Syston are also nearby as well as Thurcaston. Birstall shares its southern border with the City of Leicester. Twin towns Rixensart, Walloon Brabant, Belgium References Villages in Leicestershire