Consultations

The Council needs to ensure its Local Plan remains up to date so it can positively manage built development and protect areas from inappropriate development. Following on from the Issues and Options consultation, which took place early in 2024, the Council is consulting on the Proposed Submission Draft Harborough Local Plan 2020-2041 (Draft Local Plan).  

The Draft Local Plan is the long-term plan to guide development within the district in the period to 2041.  It sets out a strategy for the amount, location and design of new built development (such as homes, schools, employment, retail) whilst helping to protect the countryside, important green spaces and our unique built and natural heritage from inappropriate development, as well as improve the natural environment and tackle climate change.

This Proposed Submission (or Regulation 19) consultation is an essential stage of Local Plan preparation. It represents the final opportunity to comment on the Draft Local Plan before it is submitted to the Secretary of State for Examination. The Regulation 19 consultation requires comments to focus on the ‘legal compliance’ and ‘soundness’ of the Draft Local Plan as follows:

• To be legally compliant the Draft Local Plan must have been undertaken in accordance with all relevant legislation and procedural requirements; and 
• To be considered sound, the Draft Local Plan must show that it is meets the tests of soundness set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (i.e. positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national policy).   

The consultation is an opportunity for the public and interested parties to influence policy by suggesting changes. All comments will be submitted to the Inspector as part of the Examination process. A user-friendly executive summary of the consultation document is available along with a series of Local Plan Frequently Asked Questions which you may find useful. 

 

How to make representations on the Draft Local Plan  

The public consultation on the Proposed Submission Draft Harborough Local Plan 2020-2041 and supporting documents opens from 9am on Monday 10 March to 9am on Tuesday 6 May 2025. Should you wish to make representations on the consultation documents you must do so within the consultation period. Any representations received outside this period will not be considered.  

Through our dedicated online consultation page you can view and comment on the following documents: 

• Proposed Submission Draft Harborough Local Plan 2020-2041 
• Policies Map
• Sustainability Appraisal (SA)
• Sustainability Appraisal Non-Technical Summary
• Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA)

The Policies Map is also available on the Council’s interactive mapping system at www.harborough.gov.uk/interactive-policies-map 

To submit comments, you will need to register with your name and email address. You can do this by clicking here. Registering is straightforward but if you need further help please go to  https://harborough.oc2.uk/instructions

representations on this consultation will be considered by an independent Inspector appointed to examine the Harborough Local Plan. To comply with Government guidance, and to help ensure that representations are submitted in a format that the Inspector can readily use, your representations on the Local Plan must do the following:

• state whether the document (or the relevant part of it) is considered sound or unsound;
• if unsound, include an explanation as to how it can be amended to make it sound; and
• identify the 'test of soundness' or legal requirement (including meeting the Duty to Cooperate) to which the representation relates.

To be considered 'sound' a Local Plan must be:

• Positively prepared – the plan should be prepared based on a strategy which seeks to meet objectively assessed development needs and infrastructure requirements, including, where they arise, potentially making an appropriate contribution towards meeting unmet requirements from neighbouring authorities;
• Justified – the plan should be the most appropriate strategy, when considered against the reasonable alternatives, based on proportionate evidence;
• Effective – the plan should be deliverable over its period and based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic priorities; and
• Consistent with national policy – the plan should enable the delivery of sustainable development in accordance with the policies in the National Planning Policy Framework.

You are encouraged to use the online consultation system to make representations on the Local Plan and supporting documents through our dedicated online consultation page. This will ensure your representations are accurately logged and easily submitted to the Inspector.

If you cannot make your representation via the online portal, you can access a Word version of the representation form at www.harborough.gov.uk/representation-form. Should you require a hard copy of the representation form, please contact the Strategic Planning Team on Tel: 01858 821160 or email: planningpolicy@harborough.gov.uk. Completed representation forms can be returned to localplan@harborough.gov.uk or by post to: Strategic Planning Team, Harborough District Council, The Symington Building, Adam and Eve Street, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 7AG.

 

Supporting Evidence

A wide range of supporting evidence has been prepared to inform the policies set out in the Local Plan. This is available alongside the all the Proposed Submission documents on the Councils’ website.  

• Proposed Submission Documents and Supporting Evidence 

 

Public drop-in events

To encourage and support local residents, businesses and organisations to comment on the Draft Local Plan and supporting documents, six public drop-in events are being held across the district.
These drop-in events are designed to provide interested parties with information on the consultation document, how to respond and what happens next.  Venues, dates and times are as follows:

 

Place	Date and Time	Venue
Scraptoft	Wednesday 19th March  4pm-7pm	Scraptoft Community Hub (Lounge),  Malsbury Avenue, Scraptoft LE7 9FQ
Lutterworth	Tuesday 25th March 3pm-7pm	The Wycliffe Rooms (Community Room),  George Street, Lutterworth LE17 4ED
Great Glen	Tuesday 1st April  3pm-7pm	Great Glen Village Hall,  Main Street, Great Glen LE8 9GG
Market Harborough	Wednesday 2nd April  2pm-7pm	Harborough District Council (Council Chamber), The Symington Building, Adam & Eve Street, Market Harborough LE16 7AG
Broughton Astley	Monday 7th April  4pm-8pm	Broughton Astley Village Hall (Alan Talbott Room), Station Road, Broughton Astley LE9 6PT
Kibworth	Wednesday 9th April  3pm-7pm	The Old Grammer School (Main Hall), School Road, Kibworth LE8 0JE

The display boards used at our public drop-in events are available to view on our website.

If you require further information, please contact the Strategic Planning Team on Tel: 01858 821160 or email: planningpolicy@harborough.gov.uk

What happens next?

All duly made representations will be summarised and considered. The Council may suggest minor modifications to the Local Plan be made at this stage, for instance to update, improve accuracy or correct typographical errors. If there is a need to make significant changes, these will be dealt with in accordance with guidance from the Planning Inspectorate.

The Plan, together with all duly made representations and summary of the key issues raised, will then be submitted for independent examination by a Planning Inspector, who will examine the 'soundness' of the Plan on behalf of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. During the examination, the Inspector will assess whether the Local Plan meets the relevant legal requirements, complies with the Duty to Cooperate, and is sound. The examination will include hearing sessions on matters identified by the appointed Inspector at which attendance is at the invitation of the Inspector.

After the hearing, the Inspector may recommend major modifications to the Local Plan. The Council will consult on these and the Inspector will take the responses to that consultation into account before finalising their report, setting out findings and recommendations.

If the Inspector finds the Plan to be sound and legally compliant, with or without modifications, the Council may proceed to adopt the Plan.

Local Plan Frequently Asked Questions

Should you want to find out more about the role of the Local Plan, the preparation process and how to make comments on the Local Plan, a series of Frequently Asked Questions is available:

• FAQs

Further general information about local plans, how they are prepared and the process the Council is required to follow is outlined in this short video by the Planning Inspectorate (opens the YouTube website).

Local Development Scheme (Local Plan preparation timetable) 

The Council has a duty to prepare, publish and maintain a Local Development Scheme. This sets out the timetable for the key stages in the preparation of the new Local Plan. On 3 March 2025, the Council approved an updated Local Development Scheme setting out main stages through to adoption of the Local Plan.  

• Local Development Scheme (March 2025)

 

Previous Local Plan Consultation  
Issues and Options Public Consultation

The Issues and Options public consultation was the first stage of public consultation on the new Local Plan. It sought views on a range of planning issues and potential options for the future development of the district. 

Consultation on the Issues and Options document took place from 16 January to 27 February 2024. Although no longer open for comments, the consultation document is available to read here. 

The Consultation Statement details the consultation arrangements, summarizes the issues raised, together with a brief explanation of how these were used to inform the preparation of the Draft Local Plan. 

For further information on consultations, please visit our How to get involved page.