Garden Town boss welcomes green light for East of Harlow project
News / Sun 29th Sep 2024 at 03:26pm
GARDEN Town Director, Naisha Polaine, has welcomed the news that both Harlow Council and Epping Forest District Council have adopted cross-boundary master planning guidance for over 3000 homes in East of Harlow.
One of four neighbourhoods proposed for the Garden Town, East of Harlow will feature 2600 homes on Harlow Council land and 750 across Epping Forest in addition to a 14ha health and wellbeing campus plus supporting infrastructure.
The adoption of the East of Harlow Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) gives it material planning consideration status, meaning future site developers will have to follow the guidance around placemaking and building quality homes in order to secure planning permission. “We’re delighted that the East of Harlow SPD has been approved by our council partners as it embeds our vision of well-designed homes and creating a brand new sustainable community that will give the residents there a great quality of life in the future,” commented Naisha.
“The East of Harlow SPD is a huge piece of work for the Garden Town project because it negates future risks like a piecemeal development that isn’t held together by a cohesive masterplan or designs that don’t tie in with our wider principles around quality placemaking.
” With local residents and stakeholder groups inputting into the SPD last year, East of Harlow is set to incorporate a wide range of community facilities, including nursery/pre-school facilities plus two new primary schools and a secondary school alongside the 3350 homes.
“We realise that new communities like East of Harlow can make people feel nervous because it brings a level of uncertainty and change and that’s something we recognise,” said Naisha. “But there’s so much to be excited about around East of Harlow and the other Garden Town communities proposed for Gilston, Water Lane and Latton Priory.
“The SPD has allowed us to prioritise the things that people are passionate about like safeguarding landscape features and the importance of green wedges, part of Harlow’s existing character, and a key Sustainable Transport Corridor to improve accessibility to cycling, walking and bus services.”
The East of Harlow Supplementary Planning Document can be viewed here – https://tinyurl.com/EoH-Sept24
5 Comments for Garden Town boss welcomes green light for East of Harlow project:
Seamus
2024-09-29 16:50:24
Some interesting Skullduggery afoot here. Item "1.4 As part of the East of Harlow Garden Community, there will be significantupgrades to the transport infrastructure to ensure the delivery of the HGGTambition of a transport modal shift/change, which will see 60% of journeys innew Garden Communities being made by sustainable transport modes". There is no way on gods green earth that you can decide out of thin air that 60% of the transport in the gilden way project. Most of the houses being sold will have advertised as garages, driveways and off road parking. Someone is being less than honest. "2.4 Green Belt Reviews, carried out by both Harlow and Epping District Councils,identified that the existing Green Belt in the area was performing poorly when assessed against the purposes of the Green Belt set out in the National Planning Policy Framework. As a result, the Green Belt boundary in the area was changed and the East of Harlow Garden Community is no longer designated as Green Belt." You'll forgive me but that looks like you didn't like the rules so you simply changed them to make sure you got the development passed, who made that decision please? The big decisions haven't even been agreed but the development has been?? "4.d.ii Many of these issues are too detailed to be considered in this SPD, as SPDs cannot be overly prescriptive. For this chapter the issues not addressed include, but are not limited to: exact level and type of affordable housing to be provided; • exact housing densities at different locations across the site; • layouts of housing estates;• exact use of all land parcels;• detailed design of houses and gardens;• details of sensitive landscaping to respond to existing features;• presence of Flood Risk Zone 2 and 3 areas; " So you know how many homes you want to build, you don't know what type, how many will be for social housing, the layout of the development, you don't know what green spaces you will have and you don't know about the flood zones. Despite not knowing anything about the key decisions, you've called green belt grey and passed a plan that has no idea about key decisions, and that's before we even discuss the new hospital promised in these plans. What on earth is going on? You are building for the developers, not the people and Harlow council, you have the biggest say in this development. isn't it about time You built communities in Harlow supported by infrastructure rather than putting developers profit first over the peoples needs?
Fred Up
2024-09-29 17:43:18
Gilden Way can’t cope now, they haven’t built the new school in Gilden Park yet.Are these new houses going on the land that was earmarked for the new hospital?
charlie
2024-09-29 17:45:31
So Naisha Polaine says there is so much to be excited about. The exact opposite is more the case. Harlow is going to be surrounded by more and more of a concrete jungle. No green fields and farmland left and it will not help people on the housing waiting list as most will be bought by out of towners. We don't have the road layout to cope with what is already a gridlocked town every day of the week. And I have repeatably said that the planners should put everything on hold until the promised new hospital is in place. Given the governments position on the hospital, that will be way way way into the distant future if at all.
Natalie
2024-09-29 19:04:29
Absolutely ridiculous Harlow roads can’t cope as it is. It is getting more and more built up and is not a great place to live like it used to be. As others have said they haven’t built the school on gilden park and hospital build has been cancelled. PAH will never cope with more people. You can’t get a doctor or dental appointment. The postal service is on its knees so yes let’s build more houses . Idiots !!!
Peter Lamb
2024-09-29 20:54:33
Before we built tens of thousands of homes around Harlow's borders our elected officials should first ensure that the infrastructure is in place to cope with the increased demands on our Roads, Hospitals, Doctors,Dental Care,Schools and other facilities before marching ahead with destroyed our green beltPeter Lamb Reform Party Candidate Little Parndon & Town Centre Ward