Nearly £30million has been secured, in the last five years, to help fund vital community facilities and infrastructure across the Harborough district.

Harborough District Council has helped secure investment from developers – through Section 106 agreements – to create health, homes, and leisure opportunities in areas where houses have been built.

The contributions have provided money to improve play areas, sporting facilities, village halls, as well as to provide affordable homes for those struggling to buy or rent a home on the open market. This will also provide new and improved community facilities, upgraded open spaces, health facilities, police contributions, and Lutterworth Museum in the future.

Since 2017, the total provided from developer contributions for community facilities in the district is approximately £16million.

That includes £5.5m of developer contributions to benefit Lutterworth and Broughton Astley, £7.3m of contributions for the middle of the district – which includes Fleckney, Husbands Bosworth, Lubenham, Foxton, Market Harborough, Great Bowden and the Langtons, and £3.2m of contributions for the east of the district – which includes Scraptoft, Great Glen and the Kibworths.

An additional £12million has been ploughed into education through developer contributions, agreed by Leicestershire County Council, as a result of new homes locally, as well as further funding for travel, highways, household waste and recycling sites, and libraries.

Councillor Phil King, Leader of Harborough District Council, said: "This is a huge amount of money secured for much-needed new facilities in our district – now and in the future. New homes are needed, and where development takes place we, as a Council, work hard, in partnership with the development industry, to improve infrastructure, ensure communities are sustainable, and help offset any potential impact of new houses."

Harborough District Council has closely monitored contributions from new development through Section 106 agreements for a number of years to ensure the maximum possible returns for local communities.

Leicestershire County Council also negotiates Section 106 agreements on behalf of Harborough district residents with regards to education, libraries, waste and roads.
Each year, Harborough District Council also invites parishes and community groups to apply for Section 106 grants to help much-needed local projects happen. Since 2017, we've paid out nearly £5million (£4,487,750) to nearly 110 projects across the whole district and are currently inviting new applications.

To apply for Section 106 funding towards a community project in the Harborough district visit www.harborough.gov.uk/section106