Possible town council for Market Harborough to be discussed

With the Government talking about a unitary authorities in Leicestershire - which could see the end of the Harborough District Council - a report about the benefits of creating the town council will be considered by the Market Harborough Special Expense Advisory Panel on June 11.

Market Harborough is ‘unparished’ which means that there is no town council and the town is directly managed by Harborough District Council. Some of the responsibilities that the district council adopts in this role are the management of some open spaces and the organisation of events, including the Christmas lights switch-on.

Cllr Phil Knowles, leader of Harborough District Council, said: “Local Government is changing. We do not feel the current system is broken but the government is requesting that we put forward proposals for unitary authorities in Leicestershire, which will see the end of Harborough District Council. We feel a north, city, south model will serve Harborough district residents best by being large enough to generate efficiencies but small enough to respond to the needs of local communities.

“If Harborough District Council is to no longer exist then we must seriously consider whether the creation of a town council for Market Harborough, our only remaining unparished area in the district, would be beneficial for our residents.

He added: “Cabinet has had an initial informal briefing and I look forward to the discussion at the Special Expense Advisory Panel and seeing if the ten elected ward members for Market Harborough feel we should explore this option further.

"If councillors are supportive a recommendation could be made to cabinet and then council to start a Community Governance Review which could even look at what our communities all around the district might wish to see happen in their areas.”

Leicestershire County Council believes residents would have a more equal access to services if one ‘donut’ authority was created for the area. Under its plan, the city and Rutland would remain separately governed on existing boundaries.

However, district and borough councils, including Harborough District, and Rutland County Council, believe having just one authority would leave services too remote from the residents for who they are intended.