Harborough district villages feel new homes stress too

It's not just towns in the Harborough district that are feeling the pressure of all the new homes plans - villages are affected too.
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Housing

It’s not just towns in the Harborough district that are feeling the pressure of all the new homes plans - villages are affected too.

A plan to build 71 new homes at the village of Houghton on the Hill, north of Market Harborough, has just been received by the district council.

And Houghton parish council chair Ann Sleath said it was one of four new homes plans the village had received in recent months.

If all four were approved by the district council, it would add almost 200 homes to the village - increasing the 1,500 population by about a third.

“The parish council is well aware that Harborough District Council has a target to meet,” said Ann Sleath.

“Unfortunately our Local Plan isn’t in place yet, so it makes things rather difficult.”

A Local Plan is a plan for future development drawn up by parish councils, which act as guides on whether planning applications can be granted.

The problem is increased in the Harborough district 
because the district council has not met the Government’s five-year housing supply target either.

The four schemes faced by Houghton on the Hill are:

n The 71-home development scheme just received, relating to an 11.7 acre site off Winckley Close in the village.

n A 70-home estate proposed for land off the A47.

n A 32-home scheme for land off Streetton Lane.

n A 17-home plan already approved, for a site off the A47.

In total, the plans bring 190 new houses to the village.