New Homes Sites Revealed In Draft Local Plan

Sites for over 6,400 new homes across Harborough have been revealed after the District Council published its draft Local Plan.

Major developments include over 1,300 houses on land to the north of Market Harborough, with sites off Leicester Road stretching towards Great Bowden and south of Gallow Field Road.

Provision for new secondary and primary schools, health services, retail, community infrastructure and a replacement Showground are also included in the plan for the town.

Over 1,000 homes are planned for land at Stretton Hall near Great Glen and a similar amount near Scraptoft, while 475 houses are earmarked for Kibworth, 400 in Great Glen, 305 in Lutterworth, 100 in Great Bowden, 105 in Husbands Bosworth and 150 in Fleckney.

Sites for 475 homes in Broughton Astley, 104 in Houghton on the Hill, 63 in Billesdon and 80 in Ullesthorpe have also been identified.

The plan – which also identifies new employment sites – maps out development for the next 16 years and is set to support the delivery of 657 homes per year until 2036 and then just over 530 until 2041.

The government issued increased housing requirements for all councils in December and if the council does not publish its local plan for consultation by mid-March, the district will have to accommodate more new homes.

Cllr Simon Galton, cabinet lead for planning, spoke to HFM:

 

Harborough MP Neil O’Brien has been critical of the plan-making process and spoke to HFM:

 

In response, a spokesperson said: “Harborough District Council has worked hard to meet national requirements and follow the Government’s prescribed process for local plan making.

“If Cabinet recommends the draft local plan to Council, Council will consider on 3 March 2025 whether to approve the draft local plan for an eight-week public consultation.

“If councillors approve the draft local plan for public consultation, then that process will provide communities, stakeholders, and those with an interest an opportunity to respond indicating whether they consider the plan is sound and legally compliant (and where not suggest any required changes).

“A series of public events will be held across the district so interested parties can find out more about the draft local plan and how to formally respond.

“It will be important that the community do take the opportunity to respond during the period provided for public consultation so that as many views as possible are fed into shaping the final draft of the local plan.

“The council will then consider those responses when deciding whether to send the draft local plan to the Planning Inspectorate for independent examination later in the year.

“Decisions made by the Council at the end of 2023 around progression of the local plan and ensuring adequate resources to do this quickly have enabled the council to develop the plan under December 2023 National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This means the requirement for new homes in the district is around 2,000 fewer than would have been the case under the Government’s new December 2024 planning policy framework.

“It is important to understand that the process for producing the local plan is a statutory process that is governed by national legislation, regulations, policy and guidance. The council is duty-bound to follow that specified process. The process the council has followed in preparing the new draft local plan to this point is in accordance with this nationally established prescribed process.”