News and features from Harborough District Council - March 2025

Have your say on the draft Local Plan

Council has approved the draft Local Plan for the Harborough district for an eight-week public consultation.

No decisions have been made about the final plan. Consultation is an important next step in the process. All consultation comments will be fed back to councillors for further consideration later in the year. 

You can read the draft plan and have your say at www.harborough.gov.uk/localplan

A series of drop-in events across the district has been planned to help you find out more about what the plan means for your town or village or for your business. 

Planning officers will be available to guide you through the process of making a representation but will not be able to record any views expressed at the drop-in events themselves. 

Details of these events are available on the consultation web page and the council will share these dates via the local media and a flyer delivered to households.

Council approves budget with more flooding support for households

The council's budget and Council Tax for the year ahead was approved on 24 February.

Councillors agreed to fund priorities to promote healthy living and investment in a range of services and community buildings. 

A commitment has been made to continue the £1 million Community Grant Fund for 2025/26 and 2026/27 and there is no increase in garden waste bin collection charges, which remain frozen for the third year running or car parking charges in Lutterworth and Market Harborough.

An additional £100,000 has been allocated for short- and longer-term flooding support with one-off payments of £500 to be made available to households in Harborough district whose homes have suffered from internal flooding. More details about this scheme will be announced soon.

A new climate impact post is also being funded which will focus on supporting schemes and initiatives to prevent flood risk as well as working with local partners and flood wardens.

Councillors also approved an increase in Harborough District Council’s share of the Council Tax of £5.32 a year, per Band D household. The Council Tax bill contributes to public services and includes precepts from Leicestershire County Council, Police and Crime Commissioner, Harborough District Council, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue and parish councils.

To read the council’s final budget in detail, go to our website meetings pages and click the link for 24 February 2025, Council.

Subscribe to garden waste collections to get best value

The Garden Waste collection subscription service is now open. 

As part of service improvements, you no longer need an account or password to sign up to the service and recurring payments are no longer taken automatically.

Although you can subscribe to the service at any time, to get the best value for your subscription please ensure you sign up by 23 March 2025. The 2025/2026 collection season begins in April 2025.

You can put grass cuttings, leaves, flowers, weeds, twigs, and small branches in your green wheeled bin which is collected fortnightly from the kerbside outside your home.

The garden waste collection service charge has been frozen for the third year in a row, and you will get collections from late March to November.

Make sure you are registered to vote for the 1 May elections 

Elections to Leicestershire County Council are being held on Thursday 1 May, so make sure you are registered to vote to have your say on how services are being run.

How to register

You must be registered to vote by the deadline of Friday 11 April to be able to vote in this election.

Registering to vote only takes a few minutes and you will need your National Insurance number to hand. If you’re already on the electoral register you don’t need to do anything – you will receive a poll card by early April.

Vote by post or proxy

If you’d like to vote by post, you need to apply online by 5pm on Monday 14 April and if you would like someone to vote on your behalf you need to apply online for a proxy vote by 5pm on Wednesday 23 April.

If you can’t easily get online, help is available from our Electoral Services Team on 01858 821372.

Photo ID

Remember, you will need to bring photo ID to the polling station to be able to vote in person. A range of different photo ID will be accepted including a passport, driver’s licence, blue badge, older or disabled person’s bus pass, Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) card and many more. The government website has a complete list of acceptable forms of ID.

Anyone without an acceptable form of ID can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate online or by post. This is a free photo ID document issued for the specific purpose of voting at a polling station.

You will not require photo ID to vote by post or if you have appointed a proxy, although the proxy will need to bring their own photo ID.

Too late to return your postal vote?

If you are too late to return your postal vote pack by post, you can take it to your polling station by 10pm on election day or to the Electoral Services Team at The Symington Building before it closes. Your vote will be rejected if you do not give your ballot paper to a member of staff at the polling station or The Symington Building and complete a form. The government website has more information on these rules.

By-election in Glen ward

A by-election is being held in Glen ward on Wednesday 19 March following the resignation of James Hallam as a district councillor. The result will be posted on our website shortly after it is declared.

New banking hub now open in Market Harborough

A new banking hub is operating on the ground floor of Harborough District Council's headquarters, The Symington Building.

The hub is operated by Post Office employees and customers of any bank can withdraw and deposit cash, make bill payments and carry out regular banking transactions, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

A community banker service is available where people can talk to their own bank about more complicated issues on the day their bank is in the hub.

The facility will remain in The Symington Building until a permanent home has been confirmed for the hub. 

Five star ratings for local food businesses

Congratulations to all of the businesses that were awarded a five-star food hygiene rating in January.

We carry out regular checks on all registered food premises across the district to make sure the condition and cleanliness of the premises meets required standards to protect public health.

If you’re heading out for a bite to eat, it’s a good idea to check how the premises has been rated before you book or buy.

By law, businesses must register with us if they store, prepare, distribute, or sell food in the district, whether online, at a market, in a shop, or from home. This includes cakes and bakes and hot and cold meals. There is no fee to register and it can be done online.

If you wish to make a complaint about a food premises or food you have bought, email foodandsafety@harborough.gov.uk

Coming soon: Steady Steps programme heading to Thurnby

A course aimed at preventing falls is set to take place in April at Thurnby Memorial Hall.

Steady Steps is delivered by highly trained postural stability instructors. It aims to improve strength and balance and increase the participants confidence in their ability to get around without the fear of falling.

The Steady Steps programme has been delivered across the district in Market Harborough, Fleckney, Kibworth, Lutterworth and Thurnby and since last April it has helped more than 50 people with their strength and balance. If you are over 65 and worry about falling email: activetogether@harborough.gov.uk.

Dates for the Steady Steps course at Thurnby will be published on our Active Harborough website shortly. The website also has information about the course itself and also and our chair-based sessions called Chatty Chairs.

Sporting sessions for people with dementia

New Age Kurling and Boccia were the two sports on offer when our Active Harborough Team ran a session at Dementia Harborough's monthly Dementia Café in February.

Both sports can be played standing or seated and the café attendees were able to take part in physical exercise in a safe and relaxing space alongside their families and carers. After explaining the rules, many of the café attendees took part and the sports quickly got competitive.

Physical activity is crucial to improving and maintaining health and moving for even 10 minutes more each day has significant health benefits. The Active Harborough Team offers support to help people become more active and has a range of options available.

If you’re involved in a group that might benefit from sports or physical activities, then get in touch as the team is always keen to support groups with sports or physical activities including chair-based exercise - email activetogether@harborough.gov.uk 

Putting communities at the heart of future local government services

You may have read or heard in the media that local councils are to be reorganised in line with the government’s English Devolution White Paper. 

The government says all councils in two-tier areas, where there is a county council and district or borough councils, must submit proposals to reorganise into unitary authorities.

The leaders of the seven district and borough councils in Leicestershire and Rutland County Council have set out their current thinking and initial preferred way forward for the reorganisation of councils in the area.

You can read more about this on our website where you can also share your views in a short survey.

There will be more opportunities to have your say in the coming year.

Steampunk event coming to Harborough Market on 30 March

Harborough Market is hosting an exciting Steampunk event on Sunday 30 March 2025 from 10am to 3pm in Market Harborough.

Steampunk enthusiasts will be showing off their amazing creations and sharing their passion for the artform. There might even be some tea duelling – if you don’t know what it is, come down and find out.

This free alternative science fantasy event is free of charge. Find free parking at Springfield Street retail car park on Sundays: LE16 8BD.