Harborough District Council

The Harborough District, situated in rural south Leicestershire and 1 hr from London by train. The main settlements are Market Harborough, Lutterworth and Broughton Astley. There are more than 90 villages – most with populations of less than 200. The district is characterised by high quality countryside and attractive settlements, many of which have retained much of their historic character. Harborough is one of the largest districts In the country in terms of size and accounts for approximately ¼ of Leicestershire and has a population of 86,000 – growing roughly at 1.5 times the national average. We host a diverse mix of commercial space from headquarter locations for multinational companies right through to incubation space for promising start up companies and SME's at the Harborough Innovation Centre. It has the highest economic activity rates, lowest unemployment, best skills profile and highest resident average earnings of the Leicestershire area – all of which are also above national averages and due to this is the eighth least deprived district (out of 326) in England These positive indicators are mirrored in terms of local enterprise and entrepreneurial spirit . The amount of companies registered in Harborough per 1000 population is highest of any other local authority area in Leicestershire and also above national averages. In addition, the rate of self-employment (at 21.1% of employees) is in the top 20 of English districts.