News and features from Harborough District Council - July 2025

Supporting our armed forces community

We raised the Armed Forces Day flag on The Symington Building on Monday 23 June after a short ceremony in Church Square, Market Harborough.

The event showed Harborough district’s gratitude to the armed forces community and marked the build-up to Armed Forces Day on Saturday 28 June 2025. Armed Forces Day is an opportunity for the nation to show its support for the people who make up the armed forces community - from currently serving personnel to service families, veterans and cadets. 

Find out more about our support for the armed forces community.

Local initiatives across the district receive over £200k in funding

Community projects have received a share of £241,092.33 from Harborough District Council's £1 million Community Grant Fund, plus additional Section 106 money.

This latest injection of funding from the council’s Community Grant Fund supports parishes and towns to deliver projects and schemes at a local level.

The money aims to strengthen community engagement, improve services, enhance wellbeing and create a sustainable environment across the Harborough district.

For a full list of the projects awarded funding in this round by the Cabinet Sub-Committee Grants on 24 June 2025 visit our website.

In total so far ,Harborough District Council has awarded £617,499.21 from its Community Grant Fund. 

Applications open for round four of our £1 million Community Grant Fund

Round four of our £1 million Community Grant Fund runs from 30 June to 11 August 2025, with decisions on applications set to be made at the Cabinet Subcommittee - Grants on 24 September.

As mentioned in our June newsletter, we're running grants surgeries to help applicants and the last two take place as follows this week: 

• 3 July, 1pm - 4pm, Ullesthorpe Village Hall
• 4 July, 9.30am - 12.30pm, Thurnby Memorial Hall

These are open to community groups and organisations, parish and town councils and parish meetings, to talk to us about any potential projects. Please contact us in advance to arrange an appointment at one of the surgeries.

Community Grant funding is for capital projects that create lasting assets across Harborough district, such as improvements to building, facilities, or purchasing and installing equipment.  

For more information and to apply for the Community Grant Fund visit our website.

Clean Air Day encourages people to swap cars for bikes and walking

We marked Clean Air Day on 19 June by joining county council officers at Farndon Fields Primary School for a day of activities for the pupils and their families. 

Clean Air Day encourages people to leave the car behind and walk or cycle instead of driving, to reduce air pollution and improve health.

Air pollution is linked to a range of health problems at every stage of our lives – from premature birth and effects on organ development in childhood, through to causing heart and lung disease, diabetes and strokes in adulthood. Children, older people and people with existing health conditions are also disproportionately affected by the health harms of air pollution.

For more information visit Clean Air Hub. 

Visit our website for more information on air quality in Harborough district visit: 

Get active with your family this summer for £2 per person

Do you want to keep children active, entertained and off screens during the holidays? This summer, a local campaign aims to make that a little easier.

Harborough and Lutterworth Leisure Centres, which are run by operator, Everyone Active, on behalf of Harborough District Council, are both taking part in the Everyone is Family campaign which offers a wide range of family-friendly activities at local leisure centres – all for £2 per person.

Running from Saturday July 19 to Wednesday September 3, the campaign will offer something for all ages – from swimming and racquets to pickleball and badminton. The aim is to give families more opportunities to spend quality time together, without the barrier of high costs.

Activity schedules and booking information are now available on the Everyone Active website and app, with many of the activities suitable for all ages and abilities.

In addition to the in-centre sessions, families can sign up for a free Family Activity Plan, which includes more than 50 simple challenges to try at home or outdoors, along with healthy recipes.

Remember, if you're looking to get active and take your health and wellbeing to the next level, then take a look at our Active Together Harborough website for a range of activities for all.

You'll find details about activity sessions and useful links to specific programmes along with information about local groups, exercise classes and activities.

There's also a number of community activity programmes for people of all ages and backgrounds, plus information about local sporting activities and clubs, healthy eating and self-help.

Giant Air-X inflatable offers hours of fun for all

Looking for a fun activity for your children? Why not let them experience the thrill of Market Harborough Leisure Centre's giant Air X inflatable for hours of bouncing, clambering and climbing exercise? Offering fun for the whole family, the inflatable promises a safe, vibrant and energising experience for all ages.

Find our more and book today 

Youth Council meets to discuss young people's priorities

Our Youth Council met in June, during which the young members discussed the various roles they want to adopt, what these would involve and how they would appoint to those roles. They also talked about subgroups for different strands of work and recruiting new members for the new academic year.

Areas of particular interest include the environment and skills and opportunities for young people.
The group also looked at how best to promote their activities and got creative, making some posters to explain what the Youth Council is for and encouraging others to join.

Their next meeting this month will look at creating promotional videos to recruit new Youth Council members, the Community Awards Young Person of the Year award judging panel and hear about funding allocated for the Youth Council to spend.

If you are a young person interested in the Youth Council, or know of any young people you think might be interested in attending future meetings, email: youthvoice@harborough.gov.uk

New prison at Gartree - update from the Ministry of Justice

We are pleased to launch a consultation with both stakeholders and the local community to find a new name for the prison, so that it will have its own clear identity separate to HMP Gartree. I think it is very important that local culture and history is appropriately reflected in the choice of name and that we hear from those living close to the prison what they would like it to be called. 

Anybody can suggest a name for the new prison by sending their suggestion via email (Subject line: Gartree Name) to psdenquiries@justice.gov.uk by 3 August 2025.

Any rationale for your suggested names and how it links to the prison or local community would be very helpful to the decision-making panel. After this time, a panel of representatives will determine what the best suggestion is and we will seek approval from the Secretary of State for Justice and ultimately His Majesty the King before making any announcement.

In other news, some residents may recall that Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has been considering a proposal to build an additional 240 place houseblock at the existing HMP Gartree. I can confirm that this project will not be taken forward. Whilst I understand that the construction of the new prison has and will naturally cause some disruption to residents, I hope that the decision to not progress the expansion at HMP Gartree will be positively received.

In relation to the new prison build, work continues at pace with main works activity starting later this year. I have recently written to residents to provide some more details on the upcoming work. We continue to work with the local community and add value where we can. Lately this has included litter picking and community coffee events and we have some scheduled improvements to the areas around site such as road repairs and enhanced fencing. We look forward to working with the local community more as we move into our main works period.

As always, you can email us (psdenquiries@justice.gov.uk) with any questions or queries you may have.

James Smith

Senior Responsible Owner, New Prisons Programme  

We want your Tip-off on fly-tipping

Did you know that if you spot fly-tipped rubbish in Harborough district you can report it to us quickly and easily?

You may have seen us talking about fly-tipping as part of our earlier Tip-off campaign but, as a reminder, reporting fly-tipping is as simple as going to our website.

Just complete our short form with a few details about the location of the fly-tipped rubbish and we'll look into it.

Nobody wants to see fly tipped rubbish dumped in our beautiful district, but sadly there are some people who choose to break the law.

If it’s on public land we’ll clear it up and if it’s private land then we’ll work with the landowner who is responsible for removing it.

Head to our website for more information where you'll find advice for homeowners, businesses, landowners and more, including where to find your nearest waste disposal site.

New Resilience Forum website for local residents

A new website for the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) Resilience Forum has gone live.

The LLR Resilience Forum work together with partners (including the local NHS, Leicestershire Police, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service and local authorities) to safeguard the lives, property and wellbeing of residents, communities and businesses, and help reduce the impact from emergencies and major incidents.

The website provides residents with information and advice about a range of emergencies and incidents including flooding, disease outbreak, cyber-attack, severe weather, terrorism, loss of utilities and major transport incidents. 

Contact your local councillor

Do you want to raise an issue with your local councillor? Head straight to our website to find out which councillors represent your ward and how to contact them. You'll find all their contact details and information about their political affiliation and personal interests. You can search for your local councilors by postcode, political party, ward or name. From the same page on our website you can also find details about your local MP.

By-election in Market Harborough Logan Ward

A by-election is taking place in Market Harborough Logan Ward on Thursday 17 July 2025. Polling stations will be open on Thursday 17 July from 7am to 10pm. If you live in Logan Ward please check your polling card for information about the change to the polling station for this election. Valid photo ID is required to vote.

Choose the easy way to dispose of your garden waste each fortnight

With our garden waste service you can put grass cuttings, leaves, flowers, weeds, twigs and small branches in your green wheeled bin and have it 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 until November.

You can subscribe to our garden waste service from our website.

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.

New podcast hub opens for Harborough's creative content creators

Have you ever dreamed of starting a podcast, filming professional content, or livestreaming your message? Well, now’s your chance to do it all, here in Market Harborough.

Harborough Innovation Centre has officially launched a new podcast and content studio this week, offering a professional, fully equipped space for local businesses, creators and community groups to bring their ideas to life. 

From state-of-the-art microphones and video lighting setups to audio editing software and livestream capabilities, the studio is designed to make high quality content creation accessible and affordable. Whether you are an entrepreneur building your brand, a student developing digital skills, a community group raising awareness, or simply someone with a story to tell — this is your space.

Book your session today at Harborough Innovation Centre, Airfield Business Park, LE16 7WB

Search local planning and enforcement decisions in your area

Have you ever wondered when a development was granted planning permission or been interested in why something was removed following a complaint? 

Our website has a host of information on local planning matters. You can look up current and past planning applications, read details and documents relating to them and look through enforcement decisions our team has made.

We have a weekly list that you can search by ward or parish to find details of planning applications in your area. 

You can also search for details of enforcement cases which may include matters of unauthorised development, changes of use, unauthorised advertisements and works to trees.

Recent planning news includes:

• Medbourne: A planning appeal that proposed unrestricted residential accommodation of 20 holiday lodges has been dismissed. The Planning Inspector upheld the council’s refusal of planning permission. The Inspector agreed with the council that it would not accord with planning policy relating to the countryside and tourism. The proposal therefore conflicted with both the Harborough Local Plan and Medbourne Neighbourhood Plan which collectively promote sustainable development and restrict inappropriate development, such as the dismissed appeal, in the countryside.

• Sutton in the Elms: The council has successfully resisted inappropriate development in the countryside at Sutton Circuits, Sutton in the Elms. The Planning Inspectorate agreed that the proposal for 42 retirement lodges would not be sustainable development, would urbanise the rural area, would be harmful to ecology and would not provide financial contributions to mitigate its impact on local services and roads. The proposal therefore conflicted with both the Harborough Local Plan and Broughton Astley Neighbourhood Plan and the planning appeal was dismissed.

Planning team recognised for achievement

Our Strategic and Local Planning team was shortlisted in the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) East Midlands Awards for Excellence 2025 last month. The RTPI Awards recognise and reward the brightest talent in the profession, the most outstanding projects, teams and people helping to transform economies, environments and communities. 

Our team was shortlisted for their work in preparing the Proposed Submission Harborough Local Plan (2020-2041) in record time and in accordance with relevant regulations while meeting government deadlines. The team were commended by the judges for the quality planning service they provide to Harborough district.

Job vacancies - come and work with us!

Are you looking for your next career move? If so, why not consider working with us? 

Find out more about the benefits of working with our friendly and professional team and check our website regularly for the latest vacancies.

Dates for your diary 

• 3 July, 1pm - 4pm, Grant surgery at Ullesthorpe Village Hall

• 3 July, 9am - 3pm, Farmers Market on The Square, Market Harborough

• 3 July, 10am - 12pm, Open Spaces Strategy Review drop-in, Lounge at Scraptoft Community Hub

• 4 July, 1pm - 3pm, Open Spaces Strategy Review drop-in, The Symington Building in Market Harborough

• 4 July, 9.30am - 12.30pm, Grant surgery at Thurnby Memorial Hall

• 6 July, 10am - 3.30pm, Classic Car Show, Market Harborough High Street

• 7 July, 4pm - 6pm, Open Spaces Strategy Review drop-in, The Wycliffe Rooms in Lutterworth on Monday 

• 17 July, Deadline for responding to Open Spaces Strategy Review consultation
• 17 July, 7am - 10pm, Market Harborough Logan Ward by-election
• 19 July, Everyone is Family campaign starts at Harborough and Lutterworth leisure centres
• 20 July, Deadline for responding to North City South local government reorganisation survey
• 26 July, 9am - 4pm, Artisan Fair on The Square, Market Harborough
• 28 July, Deadline for responding to Car Parking Strategy Review consultation
• Throughout July: 1645: Civil War Comes to Harborough Exhibition, Harborough Museum
• 3 August, Deadline for submitting names for the new prison
• 11 August, deadline for applications for round four of our £1 million Community Grant Fund