Public meeting to be held about proposals for Harborough to take Leicester's housing overspill

A public meeting is to be held ahead of a Harborough District Council vote on taking Leicester’s housing overspill.

Local MPs Neil O’Brien, Alberto Costa and Alicia Kearns have called a public meeting over the controversial housing plans. Council leader Phil Knowles says he will also attend with council director of planning Cllr Galton and a consultant who has provided advice to the council on the matter.

The meeting will take place at the Methodist Church Hall on Northampton Road at 6.30pm on Friday November 3. The MPs say it will be an opportunity to hear from themselves and local councillors about proposals to increase Harborough’s housing target to accommodate overspill housing from Leicester.

It follows a deferral by the authority on whether to accept more than 1,500 additional homes from the city’s unmet need, which would be built over the next 13 years. A decision is set to be made on whether to approve the ‘Statement of Common Ground’ at a full council meeting on November 6.

A Statement of Common Ground has already been agreed by seven out of nine local authorities.

Harborough MP Neil O’Brien said: “We are trying to stop the leader of the council from rushing local councillors into a terrible decision. If the council votes to increase our house building target by a quarter in order to take Leicester’s overspill housing then we will be locked into higher housebuilding for many years to come.

“Over 3,000 local people have now signed the petition against this. The strength of feeling on this is like nothing else I have known locally. And yet the council haven’t come up with a single reason why they must sign up to this. They claim it is something to do with the duty to cooperate, but the housing minister has told them it is being abolished, and there is no need for Harborough to submit its plans before it is abolished. Residents are going to suffer because the council leadership aren’t listening.”

Council leader Phil Knowles says he has been calling for a meeting with MPs since the decision was delayed last month. He proposed the deferral after local MPs shared their views against signing the agreement and the leader asked for a meeting to clarify their points.

Cllr Knowles said: “I will be delighted to attend this public meeting which I have been calling for since September 18 as I think it is essential that we seek clarification on the information the MPs have shared publicly on this issue and hear how this differs with advice the council has been given.

“No decision has been made on whether the council should become a signatory of the Statement of Common Ground and the council is still gathering information and evidence on the matter so councillors are fully informed to make the right decision for Harborough residents.”

Harborough District Council says authorities in Leicestershire are bound by duty to cooperate and if it does not sign the statement, it will be unlikely to get the next Local Plan, which allocates sites for housing, adopted - putting the district at risk of speculative planning applications.

MPs say there is no legal obligation to take the homes.