New Local Plan Options

Foreword

Dear residents and businesses of Harborough District,

Welcome to this important document "A New Local Plan for Harborough- Options Consultation Paper."

This is an important milestone in our journey to making our new Local Plan for the Harborough District. The new Local Plan will replace the existing 2011 Core Strategy, and will govern planning across the District up to 2031.

We need your help as we are facing big challenges; a growing population, increased life expectancy, more single person households, and changing needs of employment. We need to build more homes and we need to provide more land for companies and business of all sizes to use to provide local jobs at all levels. Yet at the same time, we need to preserve and protect the countryside and the quality of the places and local environment which we all value and cherish so dearly.

We need your help to work out how to do this.

There are 9 options for locating housing and employment across the District, which are outlined in the following pages. We also set out some proposals for retailing, and improving our town centres, together with proposals for protecting important open spaces

Your comments are vital in helping to shape this further. Following this consultation, the Council will be examining which option (or combination of options) is the most sustainable and appropriate.

So I am now asking you, the residents and businesses of the Harborough District to take part in this process. We want and need all sections of the community to respond to this consultation. This is your chance to have your say on these vital issues which will affect the future of our District; I hope that you will do so.

Please don't leave it to others, make sure you have your say.

Thank you

Councillor Phil King
Deputy Leader
Executive Member for Finance and Commercialisation; Planning and Regeneration
Harborough District Council