Council pleads to hurry building now

Harborough District Council has recently been feeling under-pressure to speed along the building process and is urging builders in the area to work faster.

The stress comes from them being asked to build 638 homes a year for the next five years. That works out as the equivalent of building four Langton villages every year, within the Harborough district.

Many believe that the new Government approved house-building figure is far too high. The length of time taken to build these homes has been said to be dictated by the market – not by local councils or the Government.

The council’s portfolio holder for planning, Cllr Phil King, said he was “pessimistic” that this 638-home target could be achieved, saying: “Our infrastructure is already creaking. I am not prepared to sit back and accept this.”

For years, Harborough Council has been operating on a target of 350 new houses each year. However this changed when the state of secretary Eric Pickles decided that Harborough’s housing strategy was out of date.

“We’ve had to re-calculate our five-year housing supply,” explained Cllr King. “I’m very disappointed that the coalition Government has said we must use these figures. And in the end, it isn’t just about planning consent – we think we’re doing enough on that – it’s about whether developers can deliver enough houses every year.”

The council had planned to meet major developers in September to see if 638 homes a year was achievable. The council would have to ask developers if they can speed up the building. However despite the fury from many including Cllr Phil King it seems the scheme will be going ahead.