Author: HFM News

A champion boxer from Market Harborough is to receive a Green Plaque in his memory in the town, 40 years after his death. Jack Gardner was crowned heavyweight boxing champion of Great Britain in 1950 – and died at the in 1978 aged 52. He’s one of six people to receive the honour following a […]

Cash from developers for community facilities across Harborough has topped £6m in five years. Harborough Council has secured the so-called Section 106 money to improve play areas, sporting facilities, village halls and to provide affordable housing for those struggling to buy or rent a home. Fleckney, Husbands Bosworth, Lubenham, Foxton, Market Harborough, Great Bowden and […]

A big rise in assaults on Prison Officers and self-harm incidents among prisoners at Gartree is being blamed on ‘damaging’ staff shortages. Attacks on workers have doubled in the past year – with 53 reported – and self-harm incidents have gone up by 53%, from 283 to 434. Watchdog – the Independent Monitoring Board – […]

Campaigners are celebrating after a decision to close Desborough Library was deemed unlawful by a High Court judge. It follows a Judicial Review which has ruled in favour of a young girl from the town and her family, who challenged Northamptonshire County Council’s move to shut it and 20 others as part of cost-cutting. The […]

A new retirement living complex in Market Harborough is to be called Elizabeth Place – after the Queen. Work’s about to get underway to build it off Rockingham Road – on land adjacent to Meadowdale Primary School’s sports hall. The Extra Care facility will include 58 apartments for people aged over 75.

Market Harborough’s Homebase store is to remain open. It’s after the DIY retailer announced plans to close 42 stores elsewhere in the country, putting up to 1,500 jobs at risk. Restructuring company Hilco, which bought the DIY chain for £1 in May, confirmed it was planning a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA). It bought the struggling […]

A local authority with a £70m pound funding shortfall will decide what to cut later. Northamptonshire County Council has declared itself effectively bankrupt to force the implementation of emergency spending controls. It’s the first Tory-run authority in 20 years to do that and it’s feared vulnerable people who live there are at risk. A meeting […]

Joules has revealed plans for its new HQ in Market Harborough, which will create nearly 100 jobs over the next six years. They include the part-demolition and extension of Compass House on Rockingham Road, plus a two-storey car park for 180 vehicles. The development will centralise the fashion retailer’s head office to one site from separate […]

Streets on a new homes development in Great Bowden are to be named after two men from the village who lost their lives in World War One. They’ll be called Frank Burditt Drive and Isaac Martin Lane, after their relatives nominated them for the honour. Frank died in 1917 and Isaac a year later. Earlier […]

A teenager who stabbed a man in the entrance to a block of flats in Market Harborough has been jailed for 16 months. Abdirahman Ali confronted the 22-year old-victim at Edwin Court, on Kettering Road, slashing him with a knife causing cuts to his head, chin and fingers which required several stitches, The bleeding man […]