News and features from Harborough District Council -  July 2023

The Classic Car Show returns to Market Harborough on Sunday 9 July from 10am - 4pm in Market Harborough town centre.

Always a popular event, it is well attended by local communities and visitors to the Harborough district.

Visitors can expect to see all types of vehicles, from lorries to Lambretta, Ferraris to fire engines, motorbikes to Mercedes, vintage vehicles of any age and style.

There will also be a wide selection of food and drink available to buy on The Square during the day. So why not make the most of your visit and take a wander round our beautiful market town, try some delicious food, browse the classic vehicles, and check out some of our wonderful independent businesses.

Each Sunday Harborough Indoor Market also hosts traders selling vintage, retro and collectable products in the general hall, so you could grab yourself a classic bargain! 

Throughout July and August Harborough Community Safety Partnership will be running the annual Safer Summer campaign. 

We will be holding two Safer Summer Days during Anti-social Behaviour Awareness Week, 3-7 July 2023.

•    Tuesday 4 July: 12-3pm at Welland Park, near the café in Market Harborough
•    Wednesday 5 July:12-3pm at Coventry Road Recreation Ground in Lutterworth 

Partners attending will include Harborough District Council’s Community Safety and Anti-Social Behaviour team, Leicestershire Police, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue, Turning Point and Platform Housing.  

We will also be sharing advice about keeping yourself and your property safe this summer online and via social media.

Rural grants for Harborough district 

Are you looking to start, grow or diversify your business? 

Eligible businesses based across rural areas of the Harborough district are invited to apply for the new Harborough Rural Grant Scheme. A total of £120,000 is available.

Grants between £5,000 - £20,000 are available for projects which follow one of the 4 grant themes: 

-    Farm Business Diversification
-    Innovation and Growth
-    Green Technology
-    Rural tourism

Applications need to be made online.

We are managing and distributing the grants using funding received from the government through the Rural England Prosperity Fund which is an extension of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. 

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. 

Solar Together Harborough

Solar Together Harborough is back and registration is now open for the chance to invest in solar panels through a group-buying energy scheme.

Harborough District Council declared a climate emergency in 2019. The Council has committed to reducing its own emission to net zero, as far as practically possible, by 2030. We also want to support residents, businesses, and communities in Harborough District to reduce their emissions too.   

Solar Together provides a fantastic opportunity to benefit from the group buying power to get the best deal on solar panels, providing renewable energy and which will help fight climate change. 

Police and Crime Commissioner Safety fund for Communities

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) is inviting organisations from Harborough to a bid writing workshop.

The event is for community-based groups, grassroots organisations, registered charities, parish councils and schools, who are looking to learn the tools they need to submit successful and innovative bids to the Commissioning Safety Fund and other grant funding opportunities. 

The Commissioners Safety Fund channels funding into community projects that reduce the risk of crime, increase public safety, and support the objectives within the Police and Crime Plan. As part of this grant programme, there is £10,000 available for a 12-month period/project, and there will be three funding rounds this year, opening in July, September and December. 

Whilst the workshop is run by the OPCC and is specific to the Commissioner’s Safety Fund, the skills developed can be applied to any future bidding process. The event will explain the OPCC application form for the Commissioner's Safety Fund, step by step, with a variety of workshop activities to ensure all attendees get the best out of this event. 

The workshop includes general tips, common mistakes, best practice, the scoring criteria, a summary of the Police and Crime Plan priorities, the application process with timescales and an interactive exercise on scoring two mock grant application forms.

Event will take place at The Symington Building on Monday 3 July at 17:30 

Young Traders Competition 

People aged from 16 to 30-years old with a skill, craft or business idea are hosting stalls at a special Young Traders Market on The Square, on Saturday July 1, from 9am until 4pm.

The event, organised by the council’s market and events team, is part of the National Young Traders Market campaign run by the National Market Traders Federation, aimed at attracting new blood and young recruits into the markets industry.

There are four categories for young traders to enter their wares including food and drink, arts and crafts, grocery and general retail.

Stallholders will be assessed on the quality of their products and display, as well as their customer engagement and the imaginative ways they promote their business.

Stalls will be judged on the day with one local winner receiving four weeks free trading at Harborough Indoor Market and going through to one of 10 regional finals involving a total of 250 young traders, and 90 young people then progressing to the national final held over the August bank holiday weekend at Stratford-upon-Avon’s Waterside.

Harborough heritage open days

For ten days this September a host of fantastic historical and cultural events are being organised across Harborough District. The good news is that they’re all opening their doors up to welcome you in for a free visit!

This is all part of the exciting national Heritage Open Days celebration running from 8 - 17 September 2023, and it’s your chance to see hidden places and try out great new experiences.

If you run or work at a local heritage site, it’s your chance to get involved and open up to attract new audiences and give visitors the chance to try out great new experiences.

To join in, you need to offer free entry and must include an exchange of information such as a tour, display, workshop or interactive event.

Your event must run at some point during the campaign from 8-17 September 2023 and you must register your event by 1 August 2023. 

Find out more about local events or get involved.

Go Green Week 

There were a huge variety of events which took place across Harborough district during this year's Great Big Green Week. 

Sustainable Harborough were instrumental in organising and detailing events throughout the week. From a green street at Market Harborough carnival, allotment tours and community picnics to repair cafes and group bike rides, it was wonderful to see so many people get involved. 

We were pleased to host a climate exhibition in The Symington Building, and a free Go Green business event at the Harborough Innovation Centre.

On Thursday 15 June 2023, we held an open meeting where a knowledgeable and engaged group of residents met to hear what we have committed to deliver as part of our Climate Action Plan.

Attendees agreed that we all have to be involved in reducing emissions, but were supportive of Harborough’s actions and recognised there is much more to do.

There were some great suggestions about how we could do more together.

Alcohol Awareness Week 

Alcohol Awareness Week is managed and hosted by UK charity Alcohol Change UK and runs from 3 to 9 July 2023.

Harborough Community Safety Partnership will be joining over 5,000 community groups across the UK to raise awareness of the true cost of alcohol which is the theme of this year’s Alcohol Awareness Week.

During the week, we will be sharing tips across our social media channels on what to do if you think you are drinking too much alcohol, how to have a conversation with a friend or family member about their drinking, and how to get support if you are affected by a loved one’s drinking.

As part of the campaign, Alcohol Change UK will also be discussing the true cost of alcohol, not only to individuals but to society too, showing how alcohol has both individual and wider societal impacts, placing significant pressure on the NHS, the police, and workplaces.  

If you or someone you care about could use some help, our local substance misuse partner, Turning Point have a range of support available, including Crisis Cafes which run weekly in Lutterworth, Market Harborough, and across the county. 

If you need NHS mental health support, please call the Mental Health Central Access Point on: 0808 800 3302.  It is a free helpline open 24 hours a day, all week, for people of all ages in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

For urgent help if a life is in danger call 999 immediately.

There are lots of lovely places to visit across the Harborough district this summer time. We are fortunate to have a diverse choice of museums, theatres, parks, waterways, and heritage trails right on our doorstep. 

We are proud of the range of independent retailers, flourishing markets, thriving food venues, and talented artisan crafters who choose to grow businesses here. Take a look at our short video for a little snap shot of what's on offer locally.

In partnership with Visit Leicester, we are also supporting the Fitcation and Taste The Place campaigns. 

We have a range of super parks and play areas in Harborough district. Some play areas have just had installation of new equipment so now is a great time to check them out! 

Look out for the striking wildflower meadows in Lutterworth Country Park, Broughton Astley and Welland Park. They will be bustling with pollinator insects, butterflies and birds! See how many different varieties you can spot and let us know or send us some photographs via email at: communications@harborough.gov.uk 

Find wedding venues, nightlife ideas, places to go - come rain or shine, and an array of exciting events across the Harborough district. 

To find out more about the free tourism support available for your Harborough-based business, please email: business@harborough.gov.uk

Dates for your diary