Harborough MP urges residents to raise concerns over 'fleecehold misery' as council launches open space review

Mr O'Brien says new-build residents are being hit with unexpected charges for 'shoddy' maintenance of green spaces.

Harborough MP Neil O’Brien has made a fresh plea to the council to put an end to ‘fleecehold misery’ faced by thousands of residents.

It comes as Harborough District Council launches a consultation on how it manages public open spaces.

The authority is set to review sites across the district, as part of its 2020 Open Spaces Strategy.

Barriers to access, threats to open space and opportunities for long-term stewardship are being considered, to support the council’s new Local Plan to 2041 and to secure funding for open spaces.

And Mr O’Brien hopes that, with the encouragement of residents, the council might consider adopting open spaces on new-build estates, which are typically maintained by third party companies.

This, he says, often results in poor service including overflowing bins, uncut grass, and uncleaned graffiti – and all for an expensive fee. For those reasons, this model has been dubbed ‘fleecehold’.

He said: “Although the law doesn’t stop the fleecehold model, there is nothing to stop local councils from ending the misery for residents locally who are stuck paying expensive maintenance fees for shoddy work. Currently the council has a policy of not adopting public open spaces from developers, but that could change. They could automatically take on these areas of public open space, meaning that they are properly maintained and ensuring accountability in the system.”

He said the consultation was the ‘perfect opportunity’ for residents to raise concerns with the council, adding tax-payers were being hit with a ‘double whammy’.

The MP has written to the council on the matter.

It is not clear whether the review will include looking into new-build sites.

The council’s planning lead, Cllr Simon Galton, said the review would ‘provide a robust evidence base for the use and demand of open space’ and ‘will allow the council to prioritise the development of, and investment into, open space against updated quality, quantity and accessibility standards’.

He added: “We’d like to hear the views on public open spaces from the public to ensure that we provide high quality and accessible spaces that meet the needs of residents in the future.”

Visit www.harborough.gov.uk/consultation/info/161 to submit comments until July 15.

Public drop-in sessions will also take place across the district.

Visit the consultation web page or follow the council’s social media channels for updates in due course.