All seven Leicestershire district councils, Harborough included, have filed a judicial review claim against the plan to split the county, and what it argues.

Updated 31 October: the government withdrew the July decision this claim challenges on 29 October. The councils have not yet said what happens to the claim. Our report on the withdrawal.

Harborough District Council has gone to court over the government’s plan to split Leicestershire. All seven of the county’s district and borough councils have filed a protective claim for judicial review, the council announced on Thursday 15 October.

The claim targets the decision announced in July to create two unitary councils for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Under it, parts of Harborough district would move into an expanded Leicester-based council.

The group has grown since the first step. In September only five councils sent the pre-action letter. Charnwood and Melton have now joined them, after what the council calls “relevant Cabinet meetings”.

What the claim argues

The council’s statement sets out four arguments. It says the government’s decision:

  • was not made in accordance with the law
  • was made without proper consultation
  • did not properly consider the impact on local people or the costs involved
  • did not have a strong enough reason for the boundary changes that were approved

The statement does not say which court the claim was filed in, or on what date. Blaby District Council published the same joint statement on 15 October, under the heading Local Government Reorganisation legal fight latest.

Why file while the plan is on hold

The government put the Leicestershire decision under review on 7 September, along with 13 others. A review is not a withdrawal.

The councils say that pause has left them “with no choice”. They asked ministers for clarity and for more information about how the decision was made. They say neither has come.

A judicial review claim must be filed promptly, and no later than three months after the grounds first arose, under rule 54.5 of the Civil Procedure Rules. Counted from the decision of 16 July, that limit fell in mid-October.

Cllr Simon Whelband, the council’s leader, said the councils had waited as long as the law allowed. “We have held out for as long as the statutory timeframes allow us to give every opportunity for the government to withdraw the decision,” he said. “Not only have they failed to do so, but as yet, they have still failed to give any clarity to local government on what a pause to the LGR programme really means.”

He added: “This is not a step we take lightly.”

Blaby’s leader, Cllr Ben Taylor, said in Blaby’s copy of the statement that “this protective claim reserves our right” to pursue the judicial review.

Timeline of the Leicestershire reorganisation dispute in 2026. 16 July: the government chooses two unitary councils for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, with an expanded Leicester. 7 September: the decision is put under review along with 13 others. 21 September: five district and borough councils, including Harborough, send a pre-action letter. 15 October: all seven Leicestershire district and borough councils announce that a protective claim for judicial review has been filed.
Dates from Harborough District Council, Blaby District Council and Future LLR Councils. Graphic by Harborough News
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Which Harborough places are affected

Under the July decision, most of the district, including Market Harborough and Lutterworth, would join a council for the rest of Leicestershire and Rutland. The places the council has named as moving to the Leicester-based council are:

  • Great Glen
  • Little Stretton
  • Newton Harcourt
  • Scraptoft
  • Stoughton
  • Thurnby and Bushby
  • Willoughby Waterleys
  • Wistow

The council says its list shows only what the change includes, so it may not be complete. The councils’ statement says they “recognise the significant public concern” about the decision, “particularly among rural and semi-rural communities” affected by the boundary changes.

What it means for you

  • Council services carry on as normal. The councils say so in their statement, for as long as the legal process runs.
  • May 2027 elections still go ahead on today’s boundaries. Future LLR Councils confirmed in September that district and borough council elections will be held on existing boundaries.
  • Nothing about your council has changed yet. The two-council plan is under review by the government and now also challenged in court. Any date you have seen for new councils is uncertain.

A filed claim is not a ruling. Under rule 54.4, a judicial review needs the court’s permission before it can go ahead. The councils have not said when they expect the court to consider it, or whether the government will defend it.

The statement does not mention Leicestershire County Council. In September the districts said the county had started its own pre-action process. We have found no county statement on a court claim.

Sources