Planning policy background documents

Adopted Harborough Local Plan 2011-2031

The Local Plan is the Council's principal planning policy document and sets out the vision, objectives, spatial strategy and planning policies for the entire District area, for the period up to 2031. The Local Plan replaces the Council's Core Strategy 2006-2028 and Saved Policies from the previous 2001 Local Plan.

Assets of Community Value

The Community Right to Bid allows community groups and parish councils to nominate buildings or land for listing (protection) as an asset of community value.This means that if it ever goes up for sale, you can ‘stop the clock’ for up to 6 months, giving you the opportunity to get together with your neighbours and raise the finances to bid to buy it.

Bitteswell Conservation Area

The Bitteswell Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan outlines the special architectural and historical characteristics unique to Bitteswell that give rise to its designation as a Conservation Area.  This will help Harborough District Council to ensure that the character and appearance of the Bitteswell Conservation Area can be preserved or enhanced via the local planning process.

Brownfield Land Register

The Brownfield Land Registers provides consistent information on sites that local authorities consider to be appropriate for residential development having regard to the criteria set out in regulation 4 of the Town and Country Planning (Brownfield Land Register) Regulations 2017.  Registers are in two parts, Part 1 comprises all brownfield sites appropriate for residential development and Part 2 identifies those sites which have been granted permission in principle by the Council. 

Community Right to Bid

The Community Right to Bid allows community groups and parish councils to nominate buildings or land for listing (protection) as an asset of community value.This means that if it ever goes up for sale, you can ‘stop the clock’ for up to 6 months, giving you the opportunity to get together with your neighbours and raise the finances to bid to buy it.

Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS)

The Community Infrastructure Levy (Amendment) (No.2) (England) Regulations came into force on 1 September 2019. Under the regulations, Infrastructure Funding Statements (IFS) replace CIL Regulation 123 Lists as the mechanism through which infrastructure projects are identified.

The Government has introduced a requirement for councils to prepare an Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS) which is to be published by 31 December 2019 and thereafter, at least annually. The IFS provides a summary of all financial and non-financial developer contributions relating to S106s within the District and includes a statement of infrastructure projects that the Council intends to, wholly or be partly funded by planning obligations.

Leicester & Leicestershire SHELAA Joint Methodology Paper, 2019

This joint methodology paper provides guidance to the Leicester and Leicestershire Councils undertaking housing and economic development land availability assessments.

Local Planning Authorities within the Leicester and Leicestershire Housing Market Area have agreed a joint approach to the preparation of housing and economic land availability assessments through this methodology, and have agreed common working arrangements in line with Duty to Cooperate requirements. This follows the requirements set out in the NPPF and the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) and will include locally specific criterion as part of the methodology.

Relevant parts of the methodology will be used to guide local authorities Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessments and will ensure that each authority’s individual document will follow the same broad methodology and appear in a similar format. The approach set out in the methodology has been the subject of consultation with the development industry and informed by the views of house builders, land agents and land owners. 

Completion of a SHELAA will enable the Local Planning Authorities to:
  identify sites and broad locations with potential for development;
  assess their development potential;
  assess their suitability for development and the likelihood of development coming forward (the availability and achievability).

Local Development Scheme (LDS), July 2022

The Council has a duty to prepare, publish and maintain a Local Development Scheme (LDS) for the District.

In July 2021, the Council’s Cabinet took the decision to begin the preparation of a new Local Plan. The Local Development Scheme sets out the timetable for the preparation of the new Local Plan, giving key production and public consultation stages as well as outlining the subject matter and geographical extent. It also enables the local community to find out about planning policies for their area by setting out the documents which currently form the development plan for Harborough District. The LDS is also an opportunity to provide information on any Supplementary Planning Documents to be prepared.

This LDS replaces the September 2021 version.

Local List of      Non-Designated Heritage Assets

The Local List of Non-Designated Heritage Assets is a list of heritage assets within the Harborough district that the Council has identified as worthy of protection because of their historic, architectural or archaeological interest.  The entries currently detailed in this document are merely a snapshot in time.  This is not an exhaustive list as other non-designated heritage assets are listed in individual Neighbourhood Plans or are included on the Leicestershire and Rutland Historic Environment Record.  At present this list does not cover all asset types or all parishes within the district.  This is an evolving list to which nominations are welcomed.  Details of the nomination and selection processes are included.

Open Spaces Strategy 2021

The Environment Partnership (TEP) was commissioned by Harborough District Council in May 2020 to produce an updated Open Spaces Strategy for the District.

The Open Space Strategy has been completed using the methodology as set out below:

• Define the context, purpose, and scope of the Strategy (Chapter 2),
• Review of national and local policy (Chapter 3),
• Identification and mapping of open spaces per typology (Chapter 4),
• Identify local needs including consultation with key stakeholders, the community, and developers (Chapter 5),
• Assess the quantity, quality, and accessibility of each open space (Chapter 6),
• Develop local standards for open space provision (Chapter 7),
• Review of current and future provision of each sub-area (Chapter 8), and
• Provide recommendations and strategy based on the findings of the Open Spaces Strategy (Chapter 9).

The Strategy has been prepared after consultation with residents, Parish Council, officers, other stakeholders, and developers. Further consultation was undertaken with 4 resident groups to consider amongst other issues the adoption of open space from developers by the Council.

Detailed audits have been undertaken on 299 sites selected using agreed criteria in accordance with Green Flag audit guidelines. All other sites received a partial audit to confirm use and site boundaries.

The Strategy has been written to reflect not only the importance placed on mitigating climate change and providing space for biodiversity but also to reflect the changing economic climate in which the Council and its partners operate and the requirement to reduce costs where possible.

The Strategy considers the provision and use of 8 typologies of open space but does not consider outdoor sport as this is dealt with by the Playing Pitch Strategy. Additionally, the provision of cemetery and burial grounds is considered in detail as part of the Cemetery and Burial Ground Strategy for the capacity of cemeteries, but the typology is included here for accessibility, quality, value, and amount of provision.

The Council has adopted a Protocol for the Delivery of New Public Open Space in 2023.

Read the Protocol for Delivery of New Public Open Space

Provision for Open Space Sport and Recreation - Delivery Plan 2021

The provision for open space sport and recreation delivery plan has been provided to deliver the findings of the open spaces strategy and sets out the financial contributions required from new development and how these are calculated.

The actions from the Open Spaces Strategy are included in the Delivery Plan at Appendix B, with delivery mechanism and key partners to complete the action.

Financial contributions will provide new open space off site or enhance existing open space of low quality or value.

The Delivery Plan set out the standards required for provision of new open space and guidance for developers providing new play areas.

The Council has adopted a Protocol for the Delivery of New Public Open Space in 2023.

Read the Protocol for Delivery of New Public Open Space

Self Build Register

The Council has a legal duty under the Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 and the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to keep a register of individuals and associations who wish to acquire serviced plots of land within the District to bring forward self-build and custom housebuilding projects.

‘Self-build and custom housebuilding’ is defined by legislation as the building or completion, by individuals, associations or persons working with (or for) individuals or associations, of houses to be occupied as homes by those individuals. ( Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Regulations 2016 )

The Register provides the Council with valuable information on demand locally for self-build and custom housebuilding and is a key part of the Council’s evidence base for this type of housing. Entry on the Register does not guarantee that a suitable plot of land will be identified or become available.

SHELAA Methodology Note, April 2022

This methodology note should be read alongside the above listed 'Leicester and Leicestershire SHELAA Joint Methodology Paper, 2019'. 

The SHELAA Methodology Note (April 2022) outlines the assessment parameters used in evaluating the development potential of sites, which were submitted to the Council via the 2021 Call for Sites.

SHELAA 2021

A 'Call for Sites' was held between March and June 2021, and the assessment of sites followed.  The Strategic Housing & Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) assesses the potential of submitted sites to deliver the proposed uses over the next 0 to 5 years, 6 to 10 years, 11 to 15 years and 16 plus years.

Shearsby Conservation Area

The Shearsby Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan outlines the special architectural and historical characteristics unique to Shearsby that give rise to its designation as a Conservation Area.  This will help Harborough District Council to ensure that the character and appearance of the Shearsby Conservation Area can be preserved or enhanced via the local planning process.

Statement of Community Involvement

The Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) explains how parties with an interest in planning issues in the District can engage with the planning system. Essentially its sets out who, when and how the authority will consult when developing new planning policy and processing planning applications.

This Study about the strategic warehousing and logistics sector in the county was jointly commissioned by the Leicester & Leicestershire authorities and the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP). The study has been prepared by G L Hearn in partnership with MDS Transmodal and Iceni Projects.

The study provides a comprehensive and up to date analysis of the strategic distribution sector, defined as units of 9,000sqm and above, and the factors which will impact on its future operation.  In addition to using data from a wide range of sources, the consultant team engaged with developers and agents to gain insight into the operation of the property market for this sector. An important output of the study is the assessment of how much additional floorspace is likely to be needed for rail-served and road-served strategic distribution covering the period 2020 to 2041. 

A number of previous studies have been prepared on this subject, dating back to 2013. This latest study provides a comprehensive updated position with respect to the future need for floorspace, and quantum of additional land needed to accommodate it, and effectively supersedes the findings in those earlier studies. 

The study will form part of the evidence base for the Leicester and Leicestershire authorities’ Local Plans. The authorities will continue their joint working on this subject with the aim of agreeing how the need for additional floorspace can best be addressed within the county.  Subject to this, it will be for individual authorities to make specific provision for the sector in their own Local Plans as appropriate.