Councillor Phil King
Leader of Harborough District Council |
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Community events matched by local community spirit |
I hope everyone is now enjoying the summer; we've certainly had some very hot weather - too hot for most of us - however it appears that most people managed to cope with it.
I must credit everyone who was working during this extremely hot spell, from firefighters to our bin crews, who all continued to provide their essential services in a very challenging situation.
Talking about challenges, it is great to see that the delayed Women's World Glider Championships are taking place in the district, at Husbands Bosworth in mid-August. There are some town centre launch events to highlight the occasion. This is a real coup for the Harborough district and will showcase the area at its best to an international audience. This follows on the wheels of another highly successful Classic Car Show in Market Harborough, which brought tens of thousands of people into the district - what a great day it was.
Finally, as well as great community events, residents of the district have always shown that we have great community spirit and it was inspiring to see Claybrooke Magna resident Brian Fowler honoured with the chance to carry the Commonwealth Games baton on its journey to Birmingham. What a great, and well deserved, achievement; and good luck to all the British representatives taking part in the Games which started this week.
Cllr Phil King |
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Joint stand against hate and abuse |
Harborough District Council has made a united stand against intimidation and abuse of public representatives by backing a national campaign promoting 'debate not hate'. Leader of the Council and Conservative Group, Cllr Phil King, and the Leader of the Liberal Democrats on the Council, Cllr Phil Knowles, have both signed the 'Debate Not Hate' public statement as part of the Local Government Association (LGA) campaign. Anyone, regardless of their background or political affiliation, should feel safe to become a councillor and be proud to represent their community, the campaign states. It aims to raise public awareness of the role of councillors in their communities, encourage healthy debate and improve the support for local politicians facing hate, abuse and intimidation. Read full details on the Council website. |
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Excitement soars over launch events for world gliding championships |
| Pictured: (Top) The British team ready for the Championship, and an aerial shot of Husbands Bosworth Gliding Club where the action will take place. | | |
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One of the most uplifting sporting events in the international calendar is coming to the Harborough district.
The Women's World Gliding Championship starts on 13 August, until 27 August, and, to celebrate the event, two concurrent opening ceremony events are being held in local town centres.
The Gliding Centre at Husbands Bosworth will be transformed for 14 intense competition days as thousands of kilometres of flight concludes to reveal the World Champion.
You can watch the amazing spectacle of the mass launch of up to 100 gliders, follow live race tracking, enjoy a great family day out with activities for the kids, air and ground displays, food stalls and more.
Join us on The Square in Market Harborough on Saturday 13 August, from 10am to 4pm, to greet and welcome the 12 competing international teams taking part. There'll be a procession of teams at 11am, welcome from the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire, Harborough FM, 'have a go on a glider' flight simulator, decorated shop windows, food stalls and more. There will be a concurrent launch event in Lutterworth town centre, on the same day, from 11am to 3pm.
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Ready, steady, go, as Brian carries Games' baton for the second time |
| Pictured: Brian Fowler carrying the Commonwealth Games baton, and pictured with the Commonweath Games mascot Perry the Bull | | |
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To carry the Commonwealth Games baton once is a great achievement – but local octogenarian Brian Fowler has just done it again – nearly 65 years after he first carried it. The 82-year-old runner ( pictured above), from Claybrooke Magna near Lutterworth, was selected, along with others across the UK, to carry The Queen's Message baton on its journey to Birmingham for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Watched and cheered on by family and friends from his village and supporters from Lutterworth U3A, as well as local school children, Brian carried the baton on a lap of the athletics track at the Pingles Stadium in Nuneaton on 21 July before passing it on. As well being a keen fundraiser, Brian has played a key role in athletics his whole life and continues to run competitively. In 1964, he set up a Young Athletes Cross Country League and retains links with Barnet & District Athletic Club where his passion for running began. Remarkably, it was the second time in his lifetime that Brian had been a batonbearer; in 1958 an 18-year-old Brian was among running legends such as Sir Roger Bannister who helped carry the baton on its journey to the Commonwealth Games in Cardiff. Brian said: "It was an incredible honour to be one of only 2,022 people from across the UK selected to carry the baton in 2022. I don't know who nominated me, or endorsed me, but I was happy and thrilled to do it." The cone-shaped baton contains, inside it, a message from Her Majesty The Queen to be read out at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, and also has a built-in 360 degree camera so people can follow its journey. Brian added: "The best part was being among all those baton carriers who had been nominated for giving their time to do great things for their community; that was amazing." In 2019, Brian scaled 5,895m to the top of Africa's highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, for charity, and, for his next challenge, in October he will be abseiling down Derby Cathedral to raise money for the Rainbows Hospice for children and young people. To sponsor Brian's abseil visit his JustGiving page. | | |
Wildflower meadows in full bloom capturing attention of passers-by |
| Top: The new wildflower meadow at Lutterworth Country Park, and the wildflowers near the Commons car park in Market Harborough | | |
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We've had lots of positive comments from residents in recent weeks about the stunning wildflower meadows which we've created in Lutterworth and Market Harborough.
Following on from the creation of our wildflower meadow in Welland Park, near to the cafe, we've also widened the project and, this year, have created more wildflower meadows - one along the Millennium Mile, next to the Commons car park, and another at Lutterworth Country Park.
Our aim is to plant a variety of species to increase biodiversity to attract more birds, bees, butterflies, and other insects and pollinators to our popular open spaces.
As well as providing food and nectar for pollinators, wildflowers provide shelter and places for insects to breed.
They are also beneficial during the winter as wildflower seeds become an important food source for birds and small mammals.
The eye-catching sea of colour has been met favourably with park users, with many people sending us photos of the wildflowers in bloom.
We are currently in discussion with the relevant people to explore options to create further wildflower meadows in Broughton Astley.
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Thank you for all your photos celebrating our wonderful green spaces |
| Pictured: (Top) Little Bowden Recreation Ground on a hazy sunny day submitted by Simon Ingram-Hawkes, and (also pictured) runners racing to the finish line at the popular Saturday morning Parkrun at Welland Park (photo submitted by Benjamin Blyth) - some of the many photos shared as part of Love Parks Week. There are more on our social media accounts. | | |
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Love Parks Week celebrates and supports the efforts of the Council, its contractors, and volunteers, who maintain and protect our green spaces. Taking place from 29 July to 5 August'22, we asked Harborough residents to send us photographs of their favourite parks and open spaces across the district. We received a super variety of images and will be sharing these every day during Love Parks Week – on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Look out for the pics which range from an abundance of colourful pollinator wildflowers, to Little Bowden Rec at dawn, vibrantly stunning roses in Welland Park and Harborough in the snow! Thank you to everyone who took the time to get in touch. We have some wonderful open spaces in Harborough District, cared for by dedicated Council workers and teams from our contractor FCC Environment who spend time cultivating, cleaning and maintaining them. Our parks and open spaces are hugely important places for our community, whether it's taking part in Parkrun, walking the dog, picnicking with friends or just soaking up the atmosphere, they give us a special space to play, relax and connect. Thank you also to Harborough in Bloom, The Wombles, The Harborough Woodland Community Volunteers, and all those who pick up litter and dog waste to keep our spaces looking beautiful, clean and green. To find out more about parks and open spaces in Harborough district visit www.harborough.gov.uk/parksIt's not too late to send us your images! Please email communications@harborough,gov.uk and let us know the location and if you prefer to be credited or not. |
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Big crowds enjoy sunshine as classic car show makes welcome return |
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Thank you to everyone who were among nearly 20,000 people who attended the Market Harborough Classic Car Show - what an occasion it was!
Not only was the weather was amazing; we had around 300 vintage vehicles across the town centre, and the event showed a real confidence in people returning to the town centre after the Covid pandemic.
Thank you to Harborough Live Events for staging the occasion in partnership with the Council, and to all the businesses who opened their doors and enjoyed the extra footfall to the town. Roll on next year!
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Meet the man helping residents create a neighbourhood plan for town |
| Pictured: Simon Hobbs, and (also pictured) residents sharing their views about Market Harborough at the consultation stand on The Square | | | | | |
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Simon Hobbs has recently taken the role of Neighbourhood Planning Engagement Officer at Harborough District Council to empower people to shape and guide future development in the town. Further to the consultation event held recently on The Square, Simon and the Harborough Town Hub (please join the Facebook group) will be planning a number of events at which residents can learn more about the process and contribute to defining the Neighbourhood Plan for their area. This may be related to subjects like transport, flooding, new developments or business requirements. Neighbourhood planning is a way for communities to help decide the future of the places where they live and work. Communities can use a Neighbourhood Plan to choose where they want new homes, shops and offices to be built, have their say on what those new buildings should look like. As Market Harborough does not have a town or parish council, a neighbourhood forum must first be established to produce a neighbourhood plan. Simon said: "Market Harborough has such a great community spirit and that is partly why I have taken the part-time role of Neighbourhood Planning Engagement Officer. I see this as an excellent opportunity for the residents and business representatives of Market Harborough to be part of Neighbourhood Forums that will be set up and therefore have their say about the future of Market Harborough. Anyone can be involved if they live or work in Market Harborough and we want to see as diverse range of people involved as possible." Simon and his family have lived in Little Bowden for 23 years and have become involved in many of the community events and groups Harborough has to offer. These include being a volunteer tree warden, member of Harborough Athletics Club and Simon also volunteers for Sustrans, the walking and cycling charity. Simon and wife, Lucy, have run their own businesses from home for many years and have very good links with the business community across the district and beyond. If you would like to submit your comments or be a member of the Neighbourhood Forums that are going to be set up, let Simon know by emailing simon.hobbs@harborough.gov.uk |
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One-stop-shop makes it 'wheely' easy to send us your bin requests |
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We've bin working 'wheely' hard to produce a range of simple, accessible forms that you can complete online to request bins from the council including: - Request a new household bin
- Request the repair of a damaged bin
- Exchange a bin for an alternative size
- Return a bin to the council
- Request an additional blue-lidded recycling bin
Just go to www.harborough.gov.uk/domestic-waste If you have recently moved into a new build property or rental property check with your developer / landlord before you submit a bin request. Your developer may have already ordered bins for your household and you could be charged for duplicate orders. Remember, if you would like your garden waste to be collected from your household every fortnight you can subscribe quickly and easily at www.harborough.gov.uk/green-bin |
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