Harlow residents can look forward to £90m in investment thanks to last week’s decision that saw East Herts Council agree to approve 8500 homes as part of Harlow & Gilston Garden Town.
And senior figures at Harlow Council have welcomed the news that will see Harlow’s current population profit from a financial commitment made by Garden Town developer, Places for People, as part of the build.
Commenting on Places for People’s successful housing application, Cllr Michael Hardware, cabinet portfolio holder for regeneration and strategic growth and Garden Town board member, said: “This is a great day for the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town.
“It will have direct benefits to Harlow itself through financial contributions of around £271,000 for the Playhouse Square project and up to around £1.1 million for our local libraries as well as major improvements to our cycle path network.
“These and many more benefits are made possible through the agreements we have in place with the developers, Places for People.
“In total, Harlow is set to benefit from £90 million in investment for facilities and infrastructure as we integrate into the Garden Town.”
Leader of Harlow Council, Cllr Russell Perrin, was also delighted to see the agreement of approval from his Garden Town colleagues at East Herts Council.
“This point in time has been years in the making.
“As you would expect with a development of this size, a huge amount of work from our officers and those at our partner councils has gone into creating a bold vision for the Garden Town to create a new community with Harlow at its heart.
“I want to thank everyone involved in getting us to this point.
“I am both proud and excited to be leading Harlow Council in working closely with our Garden Town partners to bring this ambitious project to fruition and look forward to seeing its full potential realised in the coming years.”
Cllr Hardware also commented on the supporting infrastructure that will be built in Gilston as part of the development: “The approved application includes plans for six primary and two secondary schools, healthcare facilities, a leisure centre and sports facilities, and 29,000m2 employment space.
“It displays the Garden Town partnership’s commitment to providing our area with vital education and job opportunities, as well as new homes.”
Commenting on the potential impacts that will come with the Garden Town development, Cllr Hardware said: “We do recognise there are concerns about impacts to the environment and local infrastructure.
“The development will come with significant areas of green space with community and country parks and there will be green ‘buffer zones’ separating the villages.
“Locally, we are already progressing with improvements to the Harlow infrastructure with works already under way on Fifth/Zelenskyy Avenue and the bus station and transport hub project set to start in the coming months.
“This will create a sustainable transport corridor connecting Harlow to the new villages.”
The 8500 homes will form six of the seven villages that are planned for the Gilston area of the Garden Town.
The seventh village, which is set to be developed by Taylor Wimpey, is subject to a separate planning application for 1,500 homes and is still to be heard by East Herts.
