Urban Land Institute delegates with the HGGT Team and Harlow Council staff outside the Discover Harlow engagement hub

Urban Land Institute UK Visit HGGT

Harlow & Gilston Garden Town had special guests this week with the ULI UK Infrastructure and Urban Development Product Council visiting for a walking tour around the local area followed by a presentation from HGGT Director, Naisha Polaine.

Specifically interested in the role of infrastructure across transport, health, education and housing, the Product Council is part of the Urban Land Institute, the oldest and largest network of cross-disciplinary real estate and land use experts in the world.

Led by Kathryn Firth and William Polisano, the ULI delegation met up with Harlow Council’s David Sellings for the tour that started at Harlow railway station and viewed the current Sustainable Transport Corridor works that will prioritise active and sustainable travel and connect to seven new Garden Town villages in Gilston.

The tour then made its way into the Town Centre to showcase the regeneration and development plans that include the Sustainable Transport Hub and Interchange replacing the Bus Station, revamping Market Square and Broad Walk and the Arts & Cultural Quarter proposed for Playhouse Square and College Square.

Following Naisha Polaine’s presentation in the Discover Harlow engagement hub, Kathryn explained more about the reasons behind the visit: “We were inspired by the Government’s plans for New Towns and were very keen to explore themes of sustainable growth, housing and community wealth and felt that one effective way to do this would be by diving deep into the complexities of one of the UK’s most well-known ‘old’ New Towns in Harlow.

“We enjoyed an informative walk through the town where we learned about the ambitions of Sir Frederick Gibberd and how societal changes have catalysed the need to rethink some of his principles,” said Kathryn who is Director for Cities, Planning and Design at Arup.

“It was particularly interesting to learn about the evolution into Harlow & Gilston Garden Town and the need for spatial growth and stewardship to go hand in hand.”

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