July 2025 Minutes
Parish Meeting
Harlaxton Village Hall
7:30pm Monday, 28 July 2025
Minutes
1. Welcome and Introduction: Chair’s Opening Address
The chair thanked the circa 100 villagers for attending and stated that notice of the consultation regarding SKDC’s proposed allocation of housing on SKPR-318, referred to as the land to the west of The Drift, had been received by the Parish Council on 2 July and published on the Noticeboard, website and Facebook page on 4 July. A villager then posted their own message on Facebook on 17 July, which prompted some interaction, comprising a request for a meeting and a request for a pole. On 18 July, councillors Phillips and Wicks requested that a Parish Meeting be held for the village to discuss SKDC’s proposal.
An overhead projector was used to show the SKDC land proposed for allocation, along with the Blue Box outlining their principles.
The question was asked, “Does anyone present here want this land to be allocated for housing, and the inevitable planning application and development of the site?”. None of the circa 100 villagers raised their hands. A show of hands was asked for anyone who is against such an allocation and development on the subject land. Unanimously, everyone present raised their hand.
2. Open Forum for Discussion [Registered Electors only]
Villages were asked to contribute their concerns regarding SKDC's proposed allocation and such a development. Raised matters included:
• Agricultural Land Loss: Development would remove productive agricultural land, which residents noted was among the better quality land in the parish.
• Scale and Settlement Hierarchy: 112 dwellings seen as excessive, vastly out of scale for the village.
• Further housing at a distance from the core of the village, thereby separating and isolating the site from core amenities such as the school, surgery, shop (now closing), village hall, and social club.
• Foul Drainage and Sewerage issues: Identical foul drainage constraints as at Swinehill; the current network cannot support further loading.
• Concerns also raised about surface water drainage and the implications of riparian law (i.e. downstream flooding issues and responsibility).
• A607 hazards: A major 50mph road (due to become 40mph) cuts through the village — development on the far side raises serious pedestrian safety issues.
• Access unknown: Uncertainty whether access would be from The Drift or the A607; both present design and safety challenges.
• Highway standards: Concerns that either access would struggle to meet visibility and design criteria (e.g. two-metre footways, 5.5m carriageway).
• Recent removal of A607 lighting: Inconsistent with safety improvements required for any new crossing or access.
• Loss of shop and post office affects Harlaxton’s status under the settlement hierarchy, potentially invalidating classification as a “Larger Village”.
• Heritage and Landscape Impact: SKDC calls for a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment and a Heritage Impact Assessment — the site is highly visible and potentially sensitive in heritage terms.
• Cumulative and Precedent Concerns: Fear that this could be the first phase of a much larger development stretching down to the canal, as the same landowner controls further adjoining land.
• Worry that once allocated, refusal of a future planning application would be a lot more difficult.
3. Any Other Business
Trotters Lane Bin. The chair explained that SKDC removed this and placed it down the Drift, adjacent to the canal.
Can there be a West End Bin? The chair confirmed that this was in the process of being installed when the Swinehill development was proposed, and the work will now continue to install this.
4. Close of Meeting: Thanks were given to all for attending, with special thanks to the Harlaxton Action Group for their work in further publicising the Parish Meeting and ongoing work to support the Village.