Latest news with #PhilKnowles
BBC News
23-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Major rewilding planned with land purchase near Market Harborough
More than 130 acres (54 hectares) of land in Leicestershire has been set aside for a major rewilding District Council said it had purchased a site, equivalent to about 80 football pitches, close to Great Bowden near Market Harborough, for £ Market Harborough Rewilding Project will be supported by the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust (LRWT) to improve an area of countryside described as some of the most heavily-modified and nature-depleted in lowland leader Phil Knowles said the initiative was "an amazing opportunity to restore nature on a nationally important scale in an area where this has never been achieved before." "This will be a catalyst for a strategic partnership that will rewild large swathes of nature-depleted countryside, protecting it as public open space for generations to come and bringing nature back to the area," he said. 'Amazing legacy' Mat Carter, LRWT chief executive, said: "Only through ambitious and innovative projects like this can we reverse the decline in nature and realise the benefits that it can bring."He said the project would showcase how land could be restored "to support thriving wildlife and bring benefits to the communities that live around them". He added: "This is an opportunity to create an amazing legacy." Parts of the planned rewilding area are plots of former farmland. The trust said it was planning a range of approaches to managing the land, including using herbivores like ponies or rare breed cattle to graze it more Local Democracy Reporting Service said the land purchase could also lead to the creation of a new council waste depot. Knowles added : "Not having our own waste depot to house our own fleet and equipment has been costly for taxpayers, but due to this land being adjacent to the existing depot site, we now have options for the future."
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Yahoo
Council seeking legal advice after leak
Police could be called in after documents were leaked following a "confidential members briefing", a council leader said. Harborough District Council in Leicestershire said it was seeking legal advice to check if intellectual property (IP) had been broken as a result. The authority's leader, councillor Phil Knowles, told a full council meeting on Monday he was "really at a loss" as to why an elected member felt they had to share confidential information. He said the leak had come "against all the advice from officers", while the information itself was due to be published just "four days later", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). Knowles added: "I want to emphasize that we are looking to get the police involved." A council spokesperson said: "The council is awaiting specialist legal advice regarding information that was shared on social media following a confidential members briefing and will consider its options once that advice is received." Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@ or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. Rival plans emerge to reorganise Leicestershire Council approves changes to major homes plan Concerns over 'new town' plans raised at meeting Local Democracy Reporting Service Harborough District Council
