You may have heard the Government has announced plans to build thousands of new homes across the Harborough district, including developments at Stoughton, Houghton on the Hill, Thurnby and Scraptoft. As part of the council’s new Local Plan, which will be voted on in January, government ministers want planning permission from Harborough District Council.
In addition to this, another document drawn up by Harborough District Council lists the sites applying for planning permission. In the broader area around Great Glen, Houghton, Stoughton, and Thurnby, the Council lists sites that it says have the potential for up to 16,500 homes.
Not all these sites will necessarily be granted permission. However, the magnitude of development in the area is still likely to be very large.
Harborough District Council will make a final decision on 16th January next year. However, it has emerged that councillors will only be shown the full proposals a week before Christmas.
We need to build more houses, especially affordable houses, however community consent is important and Labour’s National Planning Policy Framework sees a concerning increase in house building in our communities. It is wrong that our rural communities are expected to take the burden of the unmet housing need from Labour’s urban areas by forcing a new town on us.
Neighbouring MP Neil O'Brien and I held a public meeting earlier this month to oppose the Government's plans to build a new town here.
At the meeting we shared all the details of what we know so far, and provided details about how you can oppose this scheme.
For those who couldn't attend, you can rewatch the full meeting here.
We need to stop the council from waving this through without engaging with residents, and I will continue to fight on this.
