Planning officers at Harborough District Council have now confirmed that a special meeting of the Planning Committee will take place on Tuesday 8th March to consider the 5 major applications in Scraptoft, Thurnby and Bushby. The meeting will start at 6pm in the Council Offices, Market Harborough and is open to the public, press, applicants and other interested parties. The agenda and officer reports will be published 7 days prior to the meeting and will be available on the Council’s website. There will be a separate report on each application which will include the planning officer’s recommendation on whether the application should be approved or refused. It will then be for the 12 members of the Planning Committee to reach a decision having considered all the relevant information. Local Councillors for Thurnby, Bushby and Scraptoft, Simon Galton and Amanda Burrell are members of the Planning Committee and will be at the meeting.

Under the Council’s procedures, local residents can speak at the meeting as long as they have notified the Council by 12pm the day before i.e. Monday 7th March by phoning 01858 821342 or email: planning@harborough.gov.uk to book a place. If a number of residents wish to speak on the same application, the Council advises people to get together to discuss the points they want to make prior to the meeting to avoid repetition.

In the order they were submitted the five applications are:

• East of Pulford Drive, Scraptoft and Thurnby – 250 dwellings submitted by Jelsons. Reference: 10/00620/OUT
• East of Station Road, Scraptoft – 100 dwellings submitted by Davidsons. Reference: 10/01045/OUT
• Former De Montfort University Playing Fields off Beeby Road, Scraptoft – 215 dwellings submitted by DMU. Reference: 10/01306/OUT
• South of Uppingham Road, Bushby – 90 dwellings submitted by the Trustees of the Bushby Land Settlement. Reference: 10/01660/OUT
• East of Wadkins Sport Ground, Bushby – 150 dwellings submitted by Sugar Hill Homes. Reference: 11/00003/OUT 

It looks like the evening of March 8th is shaping up to be a long but hugely important night for the future of our area and the way it could change over the next few years! I would encourage as many people as people as possible to attend this meeting. Further updates will be posted on this website as soon as the information is available.