‘Great Loss’ As Trees Cleared To Make Way For New Homes

Trees have been felled and vegetation cleared ahead of the controversial redevelopment of an elderly people’s housing site in Market Harborough.

Contractors have been working on land at Naseby Square on the Southern Estate, formally a garages site owned by Harborough District Council.

Video: Darren Woodiwiss

Platform Housing Group, which will build 38 affordable homes on the site, told HFM the work is to enable ground investigations and asbestos surveys to take place and the clearance was delayed until the end of the bird nesting season.

Darren Woodiwiss is a local green party campaigner and resident and was part of a group who tried to secure the land to use as a community farm.

He filmed one of the trees coming down and spoke to HFM:

Tree & vegetation clearance underway. Pic: Andy Carpenter

Platform Housing Group is currently tendering for a company to carry out the £6m redevelopment, which is set to start in full in December.

The go-ahead for the scheme was given last year, despite major opposition, including over 800 people signing petitions against it.

13 bungalows will be demolished as part of the redevelopment – residents have already been re-housed by the housing association.

Harborough District Council sold land it owns at the site to the housing association earlier this year for £1.4m, although questions remain about the amount the authority paid for one piece of land that will form part of the project: