Government officials taken on a tour of new housing developments in Harborough - and told that the system has to change

Harborough MP Neil O’Brien has told top government officials that the country’s planning system should be radically overhauled.
Harborough MP Neil OBrien talks to government officials.Harborough MP Neil OBrien talks to government officials.
Harborough MP Neil OBrien talks to government officials.

The area’s Conservative MP called for a serious shake-up at a meeting in Market Harborough with senior Treasury officials as well as the district council.

The special get-together was attended by council leader Cllr Phil King, joint chief executive Norman Proudfoot and planning officers.

They met Treasury Officials responsible for planning and housing policy.

The Whitehall delegation was taken on a tour of new estates being built in Harborough.

They included Farndon Fields, blighted by fleeceholding fee issues, Burnmill Road, hit by serious flooding and the massive Airfield Park scheme off Lubenham Hill.

Mr O’Brien said: “It was a very useful meeting and I’m grateful to the council for hosting it.

“We discussed a number of issues.

“They include the process for granting permissions, site restrictions and conditions.

“We also discussed the need for greater flexibility with developer financial contributions so communities are able to benefit from the development.”

The MP said local people and councillors should have more power over deciding where new developments go ahead.

“The current system leads to housebuilding happening in the wrong place too often,” said Mr O’Brien.

“We need to reform the system to empower local communities and councillors to be able to take more control over where development happens.

“They should also have more say over how financial contributions are spent to improve their areas.”

Cllr King said: “It's very important to have the opportunity to meet Treasury Officials here and for us to be able to show them the local impact of decisions taken centrally.

Councillors and council officials work incredibly hard on behalf of local residents.

“We are always keen to work with policy makers to help drive improvements where possible.”