Garden Town Director, Naisha Polaine, has joined Places for People in commenting on yesterday’s historical meeting at East Herts Council that saw an agreement to approve 8500 homes as part of Harlow & Gilston Garden Town.
The homes will make up six of the seven villages planned for the Gilston area of Harlow & Gilston Garden Town and will include:
- Six primary schools
- Two secondary schools
- Healthcare facilities
- 29,000m² of employment space
- Significant areas of green open space – including community and country parks and buffer zones between villages
- Leisure Centre
- Sport facilities
An application for 1500 homes from Taylor Wimpey will eventually complete the seven villages and is still to be determined by East Herts Council.
HGGT Director Naisha Polaine said: “It’s a landmark moment for the five-council partners of Harlow and Gilston Garden Town and the most significant housing decision in the area since Sir Frederick Gibberd’s plans for Harlow were approved over 75 years ago.
“We will continue to put local people at the heart of our placemaking and work with them to create thriving communities, new job opportunities and much needed housing for existing residents and the generation that follows.
“With Harlow Council having secured the funding for Town Centre regeneration, the door of opportunity is now wide open for the local area in terms of transformative development, investment, commerce, employment, retail and leisure.”
A spokesperson for Places for People said, “This decision marks a historic moment in the wider Garden Town movement, for the people of East Herts and the wider region.
“The outline proposals approved at planning committee provide the basis for a truly exceptional, once-in-a-generation development to be delivered in line with local ambition.
“In addition to providing thousands of much needed new homes of all tenures, Gilston Park Estate presents an unrivalled package of public benefits for new and existing residents; including around £900m of new and improved transport infrastructure, public open space, new habitats for wildlife, sports facilities, schools, healthcare centres, retail, employment and more.
“The outline application is a culmination of joint working between Places for People, East Herts District Council, the other Harlow Gilston Garden Town authorities, local parish councils and the wider community spanning over many years.
“This engagement has included early work on the masterplans for the site which will now continue in full.”
