I'd like to welcome you to the winter edition of Harborough News - our online residents' newsletter.

As the new leader of Harborough District Council I am looking forward to sharing, through this newsletter, the excellent work the council is doing and forthcoming events.

In recent weeks we've held a number of high profile consultations - including the Local Plan, Healthy Harborough, and the Residents' Survey - and we are now busy collating the public responses. I am extremely pleased that people are prepared to give their time to engage in the decision-making process. We do listen and your views do matter to us.

I am particularly excited about forthcoming projects like our new lottery which will help local good causes, as well as the work we are doing to improve sports and leisure opportunities across the district. It is fitting that we continue to recognise our sporting stars of the future through awards and grants.

Finally, I'd like to wish all residents a merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year.

Councillor Neil Bannister

We're launching an exciting new online lottery giving people the chance to help local good causes and community groups - as well as win great prizes.

The Harborough District Community Lottery is being launched by the district council in the new year - and we need community groups to get on board.

60p from every £1 lottery ticket will go direct to charities, voluntary organisations and other good causes. Players of the lottery can win a £25,000 jackpot, plus smaller prizes.

We're inviting local not-for-profit organisations and charities to contact us so they can benefit from participating.

So don't delay - contact us at lottery@harborough.gov.uk

We'll also be hosting a lottery pre-launch event for not-for-profit organisations and charities at The Symington Building in the new year.

More details will be revealed over the coming weeks.

Sporting talent from across the district was recognised and celebrated at a special awards ceremony.

Around 200 people attended the Harborough District Sports Awards organised by the district council and held at Leicester Grammar School.

This year saw a refresh of the categories to reflect the increasing diversity of sport and physical activity opportunities available in the Harborough district.

Nominations were invited and the winners announced at a special ceremony attended by nominees, their families and special guests.

And the winners are:

Club of the Year – Bowden Cricket Club
Community Impact Award – Market Harborough parkrun
Junior Sportsman of the Year – Andrew Stamp
Junior Sportswoman – Maisie Elliott
Junior Volunteer – Lily Mills
Physical Activity Star – Geoff Knowles
Senior Sportsman – Craig Twigg
Senior Sportswoman – Emily Campbell and Laura Turner
Senior Volunteer – Val Dunton
Team of the Year – Foxton Netball Club
Twilight Achiever – Kathy Tarrant
Disabled Sports Star – Matthew Chilvers

Well done to all the nominees and winners and thank you to all who attended.

With the festive season on its way, we've compiled a useful webpage featuring all you need to know this Christmas.

Our festive season page provides information on: 

• Christmas tree lights switch on events in the district, and other festive events
• Free parking on every Saturday in December in council-owned car parks in the district in the run up to Christmas
• Food safety advice - how to cook your turkey and food hygiene ratings if booking a festive meal
• Recycling and bin collections - including the extra garden waste collection for subscribers in January 2018
• Council festive opening hours
• NHS staying well during winter advice
• Winter weather advice - including gritting updates

A new Junior parkrun event has started, following on from the success of the hugely popular Market Harborough parkrun.
 
More than 5,000 people have completed the Market Harborough parkrun since its launch in 2015. Now, thanks to the combined efforts of the parkrun team, volunteers and support from Harborough District Council, a junior version has been launched with nearly 120 young people taking part in the inaugural event.
 
Junior parkrun is a 2km run for young people aged four to 14 years. It takes place at 9am every Sunday in Welland Park, Market Harborough, starting at the corner of the children's play area. Parents are free to run with their children but must not go through the finish funnel to get a time. You can walk, jog or push the route – everyone's welcome.
 
To join in, register with parkrun at www.parkrun.org.uk, print your barcode and bring it along on the day.  

More details are on the Junior parkrun website   

We're offering further opportunity to apply for grant funding – just weeks after more than £75,000 was shared between eight district-wide projects.
 
The funding, set to be allocated by the district council, is being made available through Section 106 contributions which are provided by housing developers to improve facilities and infrastructure.    
 
Just last month more than £75,000 was shared between: 

• Lutterworth Town Council – £9,315 – Secure store for new cemetery  
• Lutterworth Town Council – £3,900  – Columbarium (to store funeral urns)  at new cemetery
• Lutterworth Town Council – £2,350 – Lights for the Memorial Garden
• Kibworth Tennis Club – £50,000 – New clubhouse
• Fleckney Parish Council – £3,704.90 – Spinney Woodland (play equipment and insect box)
• Fleckney Parish Council – £2,552.49 – Chairs and benches
• Fleckney Parish Council – £1,921.46 – Outdoor table tennis table
• Harborough District Council for Welland Park – £1,470.60 – Completion of run path for Parkrun

In the last year, the council has distributed more than a quarter of a million pounds in grants to support projects across the district.
 
Apply for a grant today at www.harborough.gov.uk/grants

A reminder for subscribers to the council's garden waste subscription service that the last green bin collection of this year is the week commencing 20 November 2017 or week commencing 27 November 2017 on your normal scheduled day, depending on your collection round.

Residents who have already signed up to the council's garden waste collection service can leave out their Christmas tree on their garden waste bin collection day (during the weeks commencing 8 and 15 January 2017) and the tree will be taken away.

For residents currently subscribing to the garden waste collection service their green bin collections will restart, after the winter break from 26 February 2017 until the end of March 2017.

Find out full details of how to subscribe or renew your subscription for 2018/19 - for £40 per bin per year - on the council's website. You will be able to subscribe for next year's garden waste service (for 2018/19) from 2 January 2018. 

An ambitious vision for new and improved leisure opportunities for towns and villages across the district - called 'Healthy Harborough' - has taken a step forward.
 
More than 2,300 people took part in our recent leisure consultation. This feedback has directly fed into our vision to create accessible, sustainable sport and leisure opportunities to encourage participation, improve health and enhance quality of life across all ages.
 
Our recent Annual Parish Liaison Meeting provided further opportunity for community leaders to tell us what opportunities and facilities they would like to see in their respective villages.
 
All the feedback we've collated is helping inform the council's Physical Activity Strategy which will be presented to councillors and published in the coming weeks.
 
Part of our leisure vision is to improve our existing leisure assets with plans to replace the ageing leisure centre in Market Harborough and refurbish and improve Lutterworth Sports Centre, with companies currently being sought to deliver this.