Stop The New Town Group to Give Evidence on Local Plan

Campaigners challenging Harborough District Council’s proposed Local Plan are giving evidence as its independent examination resumed today.

The Stop The New Town group will raise concerns about the plan for up to 4,000 new homes on land near Great Glen.

Henri Winand heads-up the campaign group and is particularly concerned about the lack of infrastructure included in the proposals:

The independent examination of the proposed Local Plan has resumed today

The group has submitted detailed evidence to the Planning Inspectors, challenging whether alternative sites have been properly assessed and whether the roads, services and other infrastructure needed to support development on this scale can genuinely be funded and delivered.

Other concerns include the loss of countryside and productive farmland, increased traffic, pressure on local services and the potential consequences for flooding.

The plan also includes sites for a further 1,700 homes to the north of Market Harborough.

Three Planning Inspectors, appointed by the Secretary of State, are examining the council’s Local Plan, which sets out the vision, objectives, spatial strategy and planning policies for the district up to 2041.

If adopted, it will provide the basis for determining planning applications and managing development across Harborough.

The current stage of the examination includes three days of hearings at the council’s Symington Building HQ from today, followed by a further three days from November 24. Proceedings will then continue into the week commencing December 1.

The Inspectors have invited the council and organisations or individuals who previously submitted representations on the issues being discussed to provide statements and take part.