Decisions made at Council meetings – 22 May 2017

Annual Meeting of Harborough District Council

Councillor Grahame Spendlove-Mason was elected as Harborough District Council Chairman for the year ahead. It is the first time in the role for Councillor Spendlove-Mason who represents the Glen Ward of Harborough District Council.  As Vice-Chairman over the past year, he has already carried out a number of civic engagements and will be supporting a charity, during his civic year, which assists young people who are carers. His consort will be his wife Maggie Spendlove-Mason. He takes over from outgoing Chairman Janette Ackerley. Councillor Ackerley was praised by fellow councillors for her time in the role and revealed that, throughout her year in office, she has raised £2,509.80 for her chosen charity Rainbows. She thanked council staff who held a Cake Sale to help raise funds for her charity during the year. Councillor Lesley Bowles was elected to serve as Vice-Chairman. Cllr Bowles has lived and worked in the Harborough district for 32 years and has been a councillor for the Bosworth Ward since 2013.

Extraordinary Meeting of Harborough District Council

Councillors approved plans to allow disposal of the homes currently being built at the former council garages site in St Cuthbert’s Avenue, Great Glen. Councillors delegated authority to the council’s corporate director to complete the sales of the new homes. Working with a number of partners, Harborough District Council is turning the St Cuthbert’s site into four attractive, two-bed semi-detached houses which will be available at low market value as part of the Government’s ‘Help To Buy’ scheme to assist people finding it difficult to get on to the property ladder.

Councillors agreed to accept an offer for the sale of The Settling Rooms in Market Harborough. The Grade II building, owned by Harborough District Council, was last year declared as a surplus asset and put on the market to achieve the maximum return on behalf of the taxpayer. Historically the building was used, as part of the former livestock market, as a place for ‘settling up’ after the auctioneer had completed the selling of stock.