Town Council Plan Scuppered

A plan to create a town council for Market Harborough has been scuppered.

It was suggested by the ruling coalition administration as a way of ‘protecting local voices’ ahead of likely local government re-organisation, which could see Harborough District Council replaced by a larger, unitary authority.

However, opposition councillors said pushing the idea forward now was premature and lacked detail.

The decision to further investigate forming a town council and conduct a wider Community Governance Review was narrowly defeated by 13 votes to 12 at last night’s full council meeting.

Cllr Phil Knowles, leader of the coalition, told HFM he was disappointed by the outcome:

Market Harborough Town Centre Pic: Andy Carpenter

The review would have cost £68,000 and Cllr Simon Whelband, Leader of the Conservative group, told HFM it was not the right time for such action, given the uncertainty around local government reorganisation:

Unlike other parts of the district, Market Harborough is ‘un-parished,’ meaning it is directly managed by the district council.

A town council could take-on responsibilities like managing some open spaces and organising community events.