Campaigners claim proposed 'new town' in Harborough district would cause 'needless destruction' of countryside

Campaigners are calling on officials to stop the homes from becoming a reality amid fears it could increase flooding.

The Stop the New Town (STNT) group was set up in the wake of proposals on Harborough District’s (HDC) Local Plan for 2020-2041 which could see thousands of homes built in their area. The Local Plan looks at where housing will go in the district, with a number of sites eyed up for future development, but STNT is opposed, saying residents are rejecting the plans “en masse”.

HDC, which must adopt a Local Plan, is required to build 657 homes per year between 2020 and 2036 in the district and 534 homes per year between 2036 and 2041. Key sites included are those for 4,000 homes on land South of Gartree Road, near Great Glen, but STNT claims the proposals would “obliterate the countryside” in the area.

At a public meeting held last month with residents, and speakers including Harborough MP Neil O’Brien, STNT campaign lead Dr Henri Winand said: “Residents en masse are rejecting the needless destruction of beloved local countryside.”

At the meeting, the group said there was a lack of infrastructure to support the development, in particular the “insufficient road network of the A6 and Gartree Road, already seriously congested in addition to the increased risk of flooding.”

Following the meeting, Mr O’Brien raised similar worries. He said: “The proposed new town – phase one of which is 4,000 homes – raises massive issues about both transport and flooding for existing residents nearby.”

Concerns about the Local Plan run deep within STNT which claims the plan itself is “flawed at a strategic level” and is also “unjustified”, “ineffective” and “inconsistent with national policy” on housebuilding. In their 55-page comprehensive objection to the plan, STNT also suggest there are “overinflated housing targets” which are “destroying further countryside when hectares of brownfield land are available for development”.

During HDC’s consultation on the Local Plan, a petition raised by STNT gained over 2,300 signatures. No firm decision on the plan has yet been made by the council, but speaking previously, a HDC spokesperson said the proposals for Market Harborough and near Leicester and Oadby would “provide diverse housing” as well as job opportunities and “improved healthcare, education and recreation services”.

They said: “The district’s unique market towns and expanded employment hubs in Lutterworth, Market Harborough and near Oadby will boost the economy, with Magna Park continuing as a key logistics hub. The plan aims to create well-designed communities where families can live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives.”

HDC also made clear that the Local Plan must be introduced, with the spokesperson saying: “If the council does not prepare a new Local Plan now, it will need to plan for an additional 2,000 homes than is currently the case because the government has increased national housing targets and at a further cost estimated at over £2 million.”

Consultations on Harborough’s Local Plan closed earlier this week. A decision on its formal adoption will be made at a later date.