'No legal requirement' for Harborough to take homes from Leicester's overspill, says housing minister

Harborough District Council has ‘no requirement’ to take homes from Leicester’s overspill – as a petition calling for it to turn down the proposal reaches 1,000 signatures.

Government Housing Minister Rachel Maclean has written to Harborough MP Neil O’Brien to confirm the authority does not have a legal requirement to take on properties from Leicester, which has an unmet housing need for some 18,400 homes.

If the council gave plans the green light at a meeting next week it would see up to 2,000 extra homes built in Harborough after the nearby city said it was unable to place them.

It would mean some 687 homes built a year instead of the 346 it had originally planned for.

The letter to Mr O’Brien says: “There is no formula imposed by the government through which housing need for an area or unmet need must be transferred from one area to another.”

Mr O’Brien told the Mail: “This letter from the Housing Minister reveals the council do not have a leg to stand on. They claim that the need to increase our housing target by a quarter comes from a government requirement. But this letter reveals that’s not true and there is no formula that compels Harborough to take on so much overspill housing from Leicester. They have not said why they are agreeing to this number.

“Under the plan Harborough would be building about twice as many homes per person as Leicester – it’s just completely unfair, and bad for the environment.

“There is still time for the council leader to change course ahead of the key vote on September 18. I’m calling on the leader, Phil Knowles, to pause the process and look again at all this, rather than rush through a massive increase which is not needed, not fair, and would be impossible to reverse.”

It comes nearly a week after the MP launched a petition calling for the authority not to proceed with the extra homes. So far some 1,000 residents have signed.

Mr O’Brien added: “An incredible number of people have already signed up to my petition to stop the council adopting this whopping increase in our housing target. It shows the incredible strength of feeling on the issue, and we only just started delivering it door to door. I hope that the council will listen to residents on this.”

Harborough District Council says it will be debating the proposal at a full council meeting on Monday September 18.

A spokeswoman said: “The council has published a comprehensive report which it will consider and debate as the full council.

"The decision will be made on the night, based on the report and any further information available at the time. The letter from the minister plus any further relevant information will be circulated to members as supplementary documentation in advance of the meeting.

“No petition has been submitted to the council at this time and therefore none is included in the published agenda for debate at the meeting.”

Council leader Phil Knowles added: “The council has maintained that we will continue to consult and gather as much additional information as we can so we make an evidence-based decision. There has been no decision on this matter yet, and cabinet made it very clear that their recommendation to council was based on the information it had at the time.

“The minister’s letter provides some of the clarity we sought from the Secretary of State and helpfully confirms that the duty to cooperate still applies. Mr O’Brien informed us in an earlier letter that the duty to cooperate has been replaced yet the minister advises: “The duty to cooperate will be formally abolished after the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill receives royal assent.” So it has not yet been abolished. The minister also goes on to say that “existing legal requirements and duties, including the duty to cooperate, will still apply” for plans submitted under the existing legal requirements and duties. So at this moment in time it still exists and has to be considered to give the council the maximum flexibility to get our local plan adopted as quickly as possible.

“I have been talking to the City Mayor about the housing need and their plans on housing delivery to understand what has been done there. He has given me assurance that they have considered all options and will confirming this in a letter to me. I will share this letter with all members once received.

“The minister states: “There is no formula imposed by the Government through which housing need for an area or unmet need must be transferred from one area to another.” There is no formula but there is a need to look how the numbers are shared across the whole of Leicestershire, and this is detailed further in the council report. The numbers have been challenged and the methodology agreed across the whole of Leicestershire. Seven of the councils have already signed the statement. The numbers do include the 35 per cent increase for Leicester city as imposed by government in the increased target for Leicester as part of their policy decision on inflating the top 20 cities in the country. This has just made the unmet need higher and so the pressure on others in the area greater.

“We are still gathering evidence, the minister’s own letter is proof of that and we will continue to do so. If when we get to full council there is further information that we all agree is needed, I won't hesitate to look to defer the decision to a special meeting while we clarify the issues. This is an important decision and we won't shy away from making it. But it will be based on fact."

Click here to see the report.