New parish council approved after unanimous vote

A new parish council for part of Leicestershire has been approved.

At an extraordinary meeting of Harborough District Council on Monday, councillors voted unanimously in favour of a parish council for Market Harborough.

District councillor Paul Dann said a recent poll undertaken by the council showed a "significant level of support" for it, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

In the poll, the council noted that from an electorate of 20,544 residents, just 4,935 (24%) took part in the consultation, with 4,243 voters (86%) voting in favour of the new parish authority.

Dann said: "One of the key themes emerging from consultations has been the likely impact of local government reorganisation.

"At this stage, we do not know what this will mean.

"Another concern is the cost. That argument will be for an elected parish council.

"Nonetheless, when considering the arguments put forward from a community governance perspective, I recommended to support the creation of a parish council in principle."

Leader of the council Simon Whelband added: "I'm not going to repeat the debate we've had over whether we should have a town council or a parish council.

"It's clear from the consultation and from the non-binding poll that there is support for a council at that level."

Dann said that the council would begin a "second phase of consultation" on the parish council to establish the numbers of wards, councillors, transition, and precepts required.

"The community review group will meet during the coming months and bring a final report to council in September," he said.

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