Controversial housing scheme poised to go ahead in Harborough

“The old people here have been treated appallingly and it’s totally unacceptable in a civilised society"
A new housing scheme which has whipped up local fury is finally poised to go ahead in Market Harborough.A new housing scheme which has whipped up local fury is finally poised to go ahead in Market Harborough.
A new housing scheme which has whipped up local fury is finally poised to go ahead in Market Harborough.

A new housing scheme which has whipped up local fury is finally poised to go ahead in Market Harborough.

Some 38 affordable homes are to be built in the controversial redevelopment project at Naseby Square, off Stuart Road, Market Harborough.

The under-fire blueprint is set to be pushed through - despite a hard-fought public campaign to block it - after the pivotal sale of council-owned land was agreed.

Harborough council’s Cabinet agreed on Monday November 2 to sell its land at Naseby Square on the town’s Southern estate to Platform Housing Group - which owns the rest of the site.

The current Naseby Square planning application will now be withdrawn.

And a rejigged application will be submitted to the council, the local planning authority, for an identical scheme - but with 100 per cent affordable housing.

The new development will be a mix of affordable rent and shared-ownership properties that can be rented or purchased at a lower rate than housing on the open market, the council said.

It will help couples and families struggling to find a home to rent or buy.

Cllr James Hallam, Harborough council’s Cabinet lead for strategic asset management, said: “It is really positive that this site will provide so many affordable homes to assist those on the housing waiting list and also help those trying to get on the property ladder.”

The council had intended to redevelop the land itself but said it is refocusing its priorities amid the Covid-19 crisis.

Platform Housing Group said it will “continue its ongoing programme of consultation with customers at the Naseby Square complex”.

But outraged campaigners are vowing to carry on battling to save the traditional old people’s community as 19 bungalows face being bulldozed.

Dave Tomlin, 77, who helps to run Naseby Square Tenants’ Support Group, told the Harborough Mail last month: “We are determined to stop this.

“The old people here have been treated appallingly and it’s totally unacceptable in a civilised society.

“We want them to think again and do the right thing by scrapping this much-hated project altogether.”

He accused the council and housing company of ploughing ahead with the initiative “come hell or high water”.

“The writing has been on the wall here for years.

“A huge outcry erupted when elderly people in 19 bungalows on Naseby Square suddenly got a letter from Waterloo housing in May 2018 telling them their homes were to be knocked down,” said Dave, who lives in nearby Newcombe Street.

“Their lives were torn apart overnight.

“There are about 60 homes here altogther on Naseby Square.

“The tenants have formed and forged a fantastic community spirit over many years dating back to the 1950s.

“That community has now been ripped to shreds.

“It’s been heartbreaking to see people moved out of the homes earmarked for the axe.

“We are also set to lose the very popular community hall and the warden’s office.

“This whole sorry saga has been nothing less than a scandal.”

He wants both the council and Platform to go back to the drawing board.

“We want them to have a complete rethink.

“Instead of reducing them to rubble they should refurbish and overhaul homes marked for destruction and bring them back up to scratch,” said Dave.

“We have a rapidly-ageing population.

“There are not enough properties for elderly people in Market Harborough as it is – without wiping out the few that we have left.

“We have fought to halt this from the start – and we are not going to stop now.

“A lot of people in Market Harborough are very angry about this and it’s brilliant to have their support behind us.”

Related topics: