Dear Residents

Harborough District Council is proposing to build a what is essentially new town - up to 6,000 homes - on the cherished farmland and countryside between Great Glen, Stretton Hall and Oadby in Leicestershire - as their 'local plan' for housing.

This development would permanently destroy 358 hectares of productive agricultural land, obliterate the green wedge that separates our communities, and place thousands of additional vehicles on rural roads and through villages that are already at breaking point. There is no secured funded plan for the schools, GP services, roads or flood defences that would be needed to support it.

The negative consequences due to the poor choice of strategic site - traffic, flooding, overwhelmed GP services and schools - extend across the entire south Leicestershire road and healthcare network, from the Leicester ring road to the M1.

StopTheNewTown.org (STNT) is the community campaign fighting to stop it — and this fund is raising the money needed to challenge the plan professionally at the Planning Inspectorate, where the decision will ultimately be made.

The fight to stop this development has reached its most critical stage.

Harborough District Council has voted to approve its Local Plan and submit it to the Planning Inspectorate for independent examination.

This is not the end - it is the moment the plan is most vulnerable to challenge. The Inspector is independent of the Council, and will test whether the plan is legally sound. We believe it fails that test on multiple serious grounds.

What is proposed

A Strategic Development Area on the farmland between Stretton Hall and Great Glen - up to 2,450 homes in Harborough District, plus further development in neighbouring Oadby and Wigston - creating a conurbation of up to 6,000 homes across our rural landscape. On the same site, the Council has allocated a Travelling Showpeople site without adequate road or landscape assessment.

This proposal would permanently destroy 358 hectares of irreplaceable farmland, obliterate the green wedge between our communities, push the A6 and surrounding rural lanes far beyond capacity, worsen flooding in Great Glen - already severely affected in January 2025 - and create a car-dependent dormitory settlement with no realistic prospect of the schools, GP services, or transport infrastructure needed to support it.

Why the plan is seriously flawed

The case against this plan is strong and documented:

— Leicestershire County Council's own Head of Planning formally told HDC's Cabinet in March 2025 that the plan is "premature" and "unsound"

— because there is no credible, funded infrastructure strategy. That is a statutory body objecting on the record.

— The Council's own viability report classifies the Gartree Road site as "marginally viable" — meaning even modest changes in market conditions could make the entire development undeliverable. At Lutterworth East, affordable housing was already cut from 40% to just 12% when viability pressures hit.

— The A46 Expressway - the major road infrastructure the entire spatial strategy was built around - was cancelled in 2020. The plan has never been updated to reflect this.

— The Local Transport Authority has stated in writing that the plan "fails to meet the NPPF tests of soundness" on transport.

— The site contains and adjoins the Stretton Magna Scheduled Monument and Grade II* listed buildings. The Heritage Impact Assessment required before allocation remains incomplete.

STNT has submitted a comprehensive formal objection to the Planning Inspectorate, documented across all four soundness tests. The case is there.

What we now need is the professional team to present it.

Why we must raise funds - and what they pay for

The Planning Inspectorate examination is a formal, quasi-judicial process. Harborough District Council will be represented by professional planning barristers. The site promoters and developers will be represented by professional planning barristers.

To give you a sense of scale, for a barrister to attend a three hour meeting could cost between £5000 and £10,000.

A full Inspectorate examination runs to weeks of preparation and multiple hearing days.

Without equivalent professional representation, the strongest case in the world can be outmanoeuvred on procedure.

We need to fund:

— A specialist planning barrister to lead our case at the oral hearings

— Expert planning reports on transport, viability, flood risk and heritage

— A planning consultant to manage and prepare the case

Our first target is £50,000 - to get the barrister instructed and work started.

Our full target is £100,000 - to fund the complete legal team through the hearings.

How to give

We have four giving levels:

Supporter — £25

Advocate — £100

Champion — £500

Patron — £1,000+

You can also give monthly as a Friend of STNT - sustaining the campaign through the examination period. This is not a membership - no meetings, no obligations. Details on our website.

For larger gifts of £500 or more, please visit our website https://stopthenewtown.org where you can donate directly with lower transaction fees, meaning more reaches the legal fund.

Transparency

All contributions go to the legal representation fund and essential campaign costs - printing, website, and communications.

All donations are made to support the campaign as a whole and are not refundable.

By donating, you are agreeing to these terms.STNT has no paid staff and is entirely volunteer-run. We will publish details of expenditure and any remaining funds at the end of the campaign will be donated to local charities.

About STNT

Stop The New Town (STNT) is a non-political, volunteer-run community group representing residents of Great Glen, Stretton Hall, Oadby, and surrounding communities. All donations go directly into the STNT Action

Group bank account.

For updates, key dates, documents and press coverage: https://stopthenewtown.org

This land is precious. Our communities are under serious and immediate threat. The Inspectorate hearing is the moment that will determine the outcome - and we intend to be ready for it.