Harlow
Profile
Harlow was designated as a New Town on 25 March 1947 and covers an area of 2,588 ha (6,395 acres).
Travel and transport. Harlow is 27m north-east of London, 10 minutes from the M25 London Orbital motorway and 25 minutes by train from London’s Liverpool Street Station. It is also very close to the growing third London airport at Stansted and provides easy access to channel ports.
Employment. Industry in Harlow covers a broad spectrum from electronics, warehousing, electronic engineering, research and development, publishing and general distribution. Harlow is one of the leading towns for research and development in the country, and these activities are on a par with both Oxford and Cambridge. Major employers include GlaxoSmithKline and Nortel Works.
Population. Harlow has a population of 80,600.
Joint Working
English Partnerships and Harlow Council agreed a joint working protocol in August 2001, to develop new ways of working together to deliver, monitor and establish the priorities set out in the regional strategy, the Local Plan and the 2020 Vision (Community Strategy). This strategy sets out a 20-year vision for the town and aims to ensure that Harlow achieves its full potential.
Regional planning guidance states that Harlow needs to "develop complementary strategies in development plans, local transport plans and strategies to encourage capital investment in Harlow through environmental improvements, improvements in infrastructure and provision for increased learning and skill training". Also, Government has identified Harlow as a Priority Area for Economic Regeneration.
For English Partnerships and Harlow Council, addressing these challenges is a number one priority. The partners aim to ensure that Harlow’s private, public and voluntary sectors work to form strong and lasting partnerships to serve the town’s best interests.
The Community Strategy encompasses key areas of activity to enable the regeneration of the town. These include:
- sport and leisure facilities
- town centre regeneration
- transport infrastructure renewal
- housing provision
- development opportunities for commercial and business growth
Current Projects
English Partnerships is currently involved in the following projects in and around Harlow:
- Harlow Gateway Project : a brownfield site covering an area of 11 ha, that is providing 450 new homes with high quality leisure and community facilities on nearby regenerated brownfield land, with easy access to the town centre and Harlow train station.
- Harlow Town Centre Regeneration : the comprehensive regeneration of the northern part of Harlow town centre that will bring about a step-change in the quality and quantum of retail, leisure and housing in the town centre.