News and features from Harborough District Council - February 2023

New Government Regulations at Harborough Elections 

For the first time, residents in the Harborough district will need to show photographic identification to vote at this year’s local elections at polling stations.

Elections are taking place on 4 May 2023 for all seats on Harborough District Council and for parishes within the area.

To vote at the polling station, you must be registered to vote and go to the polling station shown on your poll card, this is based on your address on the electoral register.

Poll cards will be sent to all electors in Harborough District at the end of March 2023. The poll card will give you information about voter ID and voting at a polling station.

Residents are encouraged to make sure they are ready to vote on 4 May 2023 by checking they have an accepted form of ID.

The changes do not affect residents who use a postal vote.

To set up a postal vote you can download a form and print it off.

Alternatively, you can email: e.services@harborough.gov.uk or call on 01858 821372 and the elections team will send out a postal vote form with a prepaid envelope.

To vote at a polling station you will need to show an accepted form of photo identification.
These include a UK, European Economic Area (EEA) or Commonwealth passport; a UK, EEA or Commonwealth drivers’ licence; and some concessionary travel passes, such as an older person’s bus pass or an Oyster 60+ card. Voters will be able to use expired ID if they are still recognisable from the photo.

The full list of accepted ID is available on the Electoral Commission’s website, along with more information about the new requirement.

Anyone who does not have one of the accepted forms of ID is able to apply for free ID up to 25 April 2023 online at voter-authority-certificate.service.gov.uk/ or by completing a paper form.

Find out more information online, email e.services@harborough.gov.uk or call the Harborough District Council Elections Team on 01858 821372.

Anyone who would like assistance in competing a paper form requesting photo ID can ask the Council's Election Team for an appointment and they will be happy to help.

Garden Waste Subscription Service is now open

Choose the easy way to dispose of your garden waste and subscribe to our fortnightly collection service at: www.harborough.gov.uk/green-bin 

💚In a positive environmental step forward, bin stickers are no longer required. Crews use in-cab technology to check which households have paid for the service. Just use a marker pen to write your house number on your bin.

🌿The garden waste service that Harborough District Council provides is a non-statutory service. Unlike household waste and recycling, this service is discretionary which means Councils are not required by law to collect garden waste. 

Not everyone uses the service, residents may choose to subscribe to the service but can also use other methods to dispose of garden waste such as home-composting or taking it to the Household Waste and Recycling Sites (tips) which are run by Leicestershire County Council.

The Service is provided for nine months of the financial year; beginning with collections in April 2023.   

If you have signed up for recurring payments, you will receive an email to confirm the payment has been taken successfully. If we couldn’t take the payment, you will receive an email with instructions on how to subscribe for the new subscription year running April 2023 to March 2024.

 🌻Check your bin collection dates and read the new service terms and conditions on our website.

Business Grants Success in Harborough

A recent round of business grants has enabled local enterprises to boost their businesses as part of a national campaign by launched by the Government and facilitated by Harborough District Council. 

Local company, Green Tomato tells us how they have benefitted from the recent ARG Business Grants scheme.

"Green Tomato is an environmentally friendly, mobile greengrocers that helps people drastically reduce their carbon footprint and plastic use.

We do this by reducing trips to the supermarket, reduce the use of plastics and reduce food waste as we have no minimum order - customers only buy what they need.

We offer high quality, fresh fruit and vegetables for customers to fill up their bags and baskets at the kerbside. By doing this, we help to reduce carbon emissions by 1.2 tonnes every year! 

Harborough District Council have been very supportive not just by offering grant funding to help with set-up costs but advice and support through their network of business advisors.

Green Tomato received ARG funding to help with connecting electricity supply to my unit in Market Harborough. This helped enormously as there was no electricity supply and we needed this to recharge our float batteries.

We have a solar panel already that generates enough electricity to power the lights and we plan to increase the number of PV panels to help with our float recharges in the future."

Don't miss out on future business grant funding opportunities, sign up to receive the Business E-Bulletin now! 

Condensation in your home

Take Steady Steps in Harborough District

Alongside health and care partners, Active Together Harborough implement a free postural stability exercise programme called Steady Steps with support from Active Together alongside all of the other localities across Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland.

Steady Steps is a 24-week programme tailored to those who have previously fallen or worry about falling and is designed to help improve balance and stability. Delivered by Level 4 specialised Postural Stability Instructors, the classes are tailored to each individual's abilities and will progress in difficulty throughout the programme.

People are eligible for the Steady Steps programme if they are aged over 65, are at risk of falling (e.g. have a high fear or falling or poor balance) or have fallen less than three times in the past 12 months.

There are sessions running in Market Harborough, Kibworth, Fleckney and Lutterworth, with the next courses due to start from March 2023 onwards.

Accessible Yoga - Wednesdays at Harborough Leisure Centre

Market Harborough has a new Accessible yoga class, which offers a safe space to build strength and flexibility.

Qualified and experienced instructor, Helen, offers a warm welcome to anyone who would like to try yoga but is worried about being on the floor as the session is  chair-based, with progressions when you feel ready.

Contact: activetogether@harborough.gov.uk for more details about Steady Steps programmes and Accessible Yoga. 

Leicester Comedy Festival is 30 years old! 

As part of the Leicester Comedy Festival, Harborough District Council is bringing some top comedy acts to the district with venues including Harborough Market, Harborough Theatre, Beerhouse and Foxton Village Hall hosting comedy events as part of the ‘BIG Weekend’ of comedy from 11 February to 20 February 2023.

Harborough Market, owned by Harborough District Council, will be transformed into a theatre for the weekend to host three comedy shows for all the family and is being supported by Market Harborough Building Society who have kindly sponsored this year’s event, marking a great celebration for our local festival marking 30 amazing years since its creation.

Tickets are selling fast for over 800 live comedy events at cafes and pubs as well as some unlikely venues across the city and county. 

Don't miss out - get your tickets now!

Check out the line up, with these acts performing at the Market Hall, in Market Harborough

 Have your say on the council’s approach to housing enforcement

The Council is looking to introduce a private sector housing enforcement policy and to consider new ways of dealing with certain housing related offences by way of financial penalties.

The majority of landlords throughout the district are good and comply with the legislation and whilst the council will always try and work with landlords where problems have been identified, there are occasions where more formal action is required.

The proposed policy sets out the approach of the council to housing enforcement and it sets out what owners, landlords, their agents and tenants can expect from officers. The polices will not increase the regulatory burden on landlords who should already be complying with the law.

The consultation will start in February 2023 and will be available on the Council’s website.

Land a new job at Job Club

Come along to Job club at The Wycliffe Rooms, Lutterworth on Friday 3 February 2023 between 1pm - 3pm.

Employers, BSS are looking for full and part-time Warehouse Operatives at Magna Park, with generous benefits and offering flexible shift patterns to support a great work, life balance. 

LTS are looking for a range of new team members, including Cooks, Kitchen Assistants and Catering Supervisors, to deliver their award-winning School Meals Service. These are term time only roles so its a super opportunity to find a job that fits in with family life. 

Pop in to Job Club to find out more about these and other exciting roles, and you could even have an informal interview there and then.

Professional career advisers will also be on hand to help you with your CV, interview skills, accessing training & more!

👉Find job opportunities, careers support, business advice, entrepreneurial guidance & more in the Harborough district or contact the Economic Development team by email: business@harborough.gov.uk

 Cost of living information for residents

We understand residents may be concerned about the rising cost of living so we have put together some information, and useful links to a range of different agencies, which may be able to help those needing further support.

You can find local warm spaces in the Harborough district, as well as mental health support, energy advice, and help with home insulation, domestic abuse, housing, and more on our cost of living page