Harborough Local Plan Approved – Now the Real Test Begins
Local residents from across the district attended a pivotal Harborough District Council (HDC) meeting on Monday 16 March to hear the debate and decision on the local plan (2020 – 2041). More than 80 members of the public were at the council offices to witness the decision by the Council who voted by 17 votes to 15, with one abstention, to submit its Local Plan for examination, a decision that exposes deep divisions over a strategy affecting many thousands of residents and the future shape of the district.
Stop The New Town (STNT), the local campaign group, said that the narrow result underlines the level of concern about whether the Plan is ready to proceed. The issues raised relate to infrastructure, delivery and planning risk across the whole district.
“This was not a settled decision – it was a split Council sending a highly contested plan to be tested independently,” said Dr Henri Winand, Chair of STNT.
Submission is not approval
Submission is not approval. It is the start of independent scrutiny.
The Plan will now be examined by the Planning Inspectorate. It must pass strict national tests on whether it is deliverable, justified and supported by credible evidence.
Unresolved core risks
STNT said that core risks remain unresolved:
- Infrastructure not agreed – Leicestershire County Council, the statutory highways authority, has raised concerns about whether the transport strategy is deliverable.
- Funding uncertainty – With no adopted Community Infrastructure Levy, key infrastructure depends on negotiated developer contributions.
- Marginal viability – The Council’s own evidence identifies the main Strategic Development Area south of Gartree Road as marginal in viability terms.
- Concentration risk – A large share of the district’s housing delivery depends on a single strategic site, despite previous large allocations delivering slowly or not at all.
STNT questioned the basis for the urgency behind submission. The Council has repeatedly argued that moving quickly would significantly reduce housing numbers. However, changes to national policy mean that any reduction is likely to be far smaller than suggested.
“The argument for rushing this plan has always been that it avoids thousands of homes,” said Dr Winand. “In reality, that benefit is likely to be marginal. While the risks of getting the plan wrong are long-term and will be felt by future generations.”
National Planning Policy
The Planning Inspectorate will now assess whether the Plan meets the National Planning Policy Framework tests of soundness. Including whether it is effective, justified and capable of being delivered.
STNT confirmed that it will participate fully in the examination process. A major fundraising campaign has been launched. The objective is to fund legal and technical experts to present the case at the hearings of the Planning Inspectorate likely to be held later in 2026.
Anne Ablett, Press Contact
Email: info@stopthenewtown.org
