News

Anglian Water is facing paying a penalty of £62.8m for failures in managing its wastewater treatment works and network. Ofwat says the company, responsible for waste water in and around Market Harborough, allowed ‘excessive spills from storm overflows’ – where sewage enters rivers and waterways. An investigation by the industry regulator found a ‘serious breach’ […]

Harborough District Council’s Cabinet is calling on the Prime Minister to abandon plans for local government re-organisation. The authority will now write to Sir Keir Starmer demanding a u-turn on the move, which would see HDC scrapped and the area absorbed into much larger unitary council. The government has ordered the changes to streamline local […]

Renovation work costing nearly £2m is being stepped up at council buildings in Market Harborough. Roof and window repairs are taking place at both the Market Hall and historic Symington Building, where some external masonry is also being replaced. Both town centre buildings are cloaked in scaffolding to allow for the work to take place. […]

Opposition is mounting against plans to build 28 new ‘affordable’ homes between Kibworth Beauchamp and Smeeton Westerby. The estate is earmarked for four acres of fields next to the GP surgery, where Smeeton Road meets Main Street. Over 30 people have raised objections with Harborough District Council, including concerns over highway safety, the proximity to […]

Over 80 apartments being created by the redevelopment of a long-standing derelict site in Market Harborough have gone on sale. Off-plan prices start from £188,000 as work continues to build blocks of one and two-bedroom flats, at the corner of St Mary’s Road and Kettering Road – adjacent to the River Welland. Agents marketing the […]

Police were called after fight broke out in Rothwell town centre. Officers were sent to Market Hill late on Friday, following reports a number of people were involved in the fracas. A man was arrested, but later released without charge. A spokesperson for Northamptonshire Police said: “A 45-year-old man from Desborough was arrested shortly after […]

Officers with tasers could be drafted into Gartree Prison as part of a trial to tackle violence in custody. The measure is being deployed at men’s prisons nationwide following attacks on staff, including at the jail near Market Harborough. In May, a female officer suffered a broken wrist and her male colleague was injured when […]

A new Co-Op store could be built in Rothwell. It is being earmarked for land at the junction of Desborough Road and Fallow Road, next to the Medical Centre. The shop would create 15 jobs and be in addition to the retailer’s existing store in the town, if planning permission is granted. A spokesperson for […]

Plans have been revealed to expand Welland Park Academy in Market Harborough. A two-storey extension is being proposed to create additional classrooms in the science block, along with the expansion of two toilet blocks on the Welland Park Road site. The plan submitted to Harborough District Council details the demolition of existing ancillary stores to make-way […]

A man from Desborough was arrested after police were alerted by a group of on-line paedophile hunters. The 59-year-old was taken into custody when officers were called to an address in the town on Saturday. Northamptonshire Police say the man was arrested on suspicion of engaging in sexual communication with a child. He has since […]