Harlow
Harlow | ||
---|---|---|
Town & Ceremonial County Essex | | |
Government | ||
• Type | Non-metropolitan district | |
• Governing body | Harlow District Council | |
• Control | Conservative | |
• MP | Robert Halfon | |
Area | ||
• Town and Borough | 11.79 sq mi (30.54 km2) | |
Population | ||
• Town and Borough | 93,300 | |
• Density | 7,920/sq mi (3,058/km2) | |
Ethnicity (2021) | ||
• Ethnic groups | ||
Religion (2021) | ||
• Religion | List
| |
Postal code | (CM) CM18 CM19 CM20 | |
ONS code | 22UJ | |
Website | www.harlow.gov.uk |
Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upper Stort Valley, which has been made navigable through other towns and features a canal section near its watermill.
At the time of the 2011 Census, Harlow's population was recorded at 81,944 and its district had the third-highest proportion of
Etymology
There is some dispute as to where the
The other theory is that it derives from the words 'here' and 'hearg', meaning "temple hill/mound", probably to be identified with an Iron Age burial mound, later a Roman temple site on River Way.
History
Early history
The earliest deposits are of a Mesolithic (circa 10,000 BC) hunting camp excavated by Davey in Northbrooks in the 1970s (Unpublished) closely followed by the large and unexcavated deposits of Neolithic flint beside Gilden Way. These deposits are mostly known because of the large numbers of surface-bound, worked flint. Substantial amounts of worked flint suggest an organised working of flint in the area. Large amounts of debitage litter the area and tools found include axe heads, hammers, blades, dowels and other boring tools and multipurpose flints such as scrapers. An organised field walk in the late 1990s by Bartlett (unpublished) indicates that most of the area, some 80 hectares, produced worked flint from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age with a smattering of Mesolithic. This indicates organised industry existed from 5000 BC to 2000 BC.[2] The deposits are so large and dispersed that any major archaeological work in the area will have to take this into consideration before any ground work is started. Harlow was in Roman times the site of a small town (around Harlow Mill railway station) with a substantial stone built temple.[3]
Later history
The entry in the Norman Domesday Book reads: Herlaua: St Edmunds Abbey before and after 1066; Geoffrey from Count Eustace; Thorgils from Eudo the Steward; Richard from Ranulf, brother of Ilger. Mill, 7 beehives, 8 cobs, 43 cattle, 3 foals.[4] The mill is now a 300-year-old listed building and restaurant.[5]
The original village, mentioned in the
Kingsmoor House on Paringdon Road is a Grade II* listed building and dates from the 18th century. It was built as a gentleman's residence and owned by local families including the Risden, Houblon and Todhunter families. It was later used as a private school and council offices before falling derelict.[7] It has since been restored and converted into residential apartments.
The New Town
Harlow was one of several towns to be built around a pre existing village,Harlow was designated a
Harlow has one of the most extensive cycle track networks in the country, connecting all areas of the town to the town centre and industrial areas.
The town centre, and many of its neighbourhood shopping facilities have undergone major redevelopment, along with many of the town's original buildings. Subsequently, many of the original town buildings, including most of its health centres, the Staple Tye shopping centre and many industrial units have been rebuilt. Gibberd's original town hall, a landmark in the town built in 1958, was demolished and replaced by a new civic centre and The Water Gardens shopping area in the 2000s.[19]
Redevelopment
Since becoming a new town, Harlow has undergone several stages of expansion, the first of which was the "mini expansion" that was created by the building of the Sumners and Katherines estates in the mid-to-late seventies to the west of the existing town. Since then Harlow has further expanded with the Church Langley estate completed in 2005, and its newest neighbourhood Newhall has completed the first stage of its development, with the second stage underway in 2013. The Harlow Gateway Scheme, also completed, first involved the relocation of the Harlow Football Stadium and the building of a new hotel, apartments and a restaurant adjacent to Harlow Town railway station. Phase 2 of this scheme involved the construction of 530 eco-homes on the former sports centre site and the building of the Harlow Leizurezone adjacent to the town's college in the early 2010s.
Other major developments under consideration include both a northern and southern bypass of the town, and significant expansion to the north, following the completed expansion to the east. The Harlow North[20] plans, currently awaiting permission, involve an extension of the town across the floodplains on the town's northern border, into neighbouring Hertfordshire. The plan was supported by former MP Bill Rammell, all three political groups on Harlow Council, and the East of England Regional Assembly. It is opposed by Hertfordshire County Council, East Herts Council, Mark Prisk, MP for Hertford and Stortford in whose constituency the development would be, and all the parishes concerned. The opposition is coordinated by a local group based in neighbouring East Hertfordshire.[21] An attempt to have Harlow North designated an "Eco Town" was rejected by the Minister for Housing, Caroline Flint MP, in April 2008.
The south of the town centre also underwent major regeneration, with the new Civic Centre being built and the town's famous Water Gardens being redeveloped in the 2000s, a landscape listed by English Heritage. Despite this development, the main shopping area of the town has been stagnating for some time, not helped by the closure of two of the Harvey Centre's anchor tenants - these being BHS and M&S.
In 2004 Harlow businessman Mo Ghadami won his High Court case to block a multimillion-pound extension of the town's Harvey Centre. The Iranian-born entrepreneur, who presented his case in person, persuaded Mr Justice Richards to quash Harlow DC's grant of planning permission for the development. In his judgment he backed Mr Ghadami's claim of 'apparent bias or predetermination' in the decision, as a result of the continued participation of Michael Garnett, the chairman of the planning committee, in the planning process after he had attempted in telephone calls to persuade Mr Ghadami to consent to the scheme.[22]
In 2011 the government announced the creation of an
Permitted development (office to residential) flats
A government policy to allow developers to convert office space to residential has led to a proliferation of new 'rabbit hutch'-sized flats,
Environment
A major feature of Harlow New Town is its green spaces; over one third of the district is parkland or fields containing public footpaths. One of the original design features of Gibberd's masterplan is the Green Wedges in the town, designed to provide open space for wildlife and recreation and to separate neighbourhoods. 23% of the district is designated as Green Wedge. The Green Wedges are protected from inappropriate development, through the Local Plan.[28]
The town is entirely surrounded by Green Belt land, a land designation which originated in London to prevent the city sprawling, and 21% of the district is allocated as Green Belt.[28] The National Planning Policy Framework states that one of the purposes of Green Belt land is to protect unrestricted sprawl from large built-up areas.[29]
There are only 12 parks with significant post-war element on the English Heritage 'Register of Parks'. With these Harlow is seen as one of the first examples of a civic scheme to marry the modern science of town and country planning.[citation needed]
Economy
Harlow was originally expected to provide a majority of employment opportunities in manufacturing,[citation needed] with two major developments of The Pinnacles and Templefields providing the biggest employers in the region; as with the rest of the country, this manufacturing base has declined and Harlow has had to adjust.
The original manufacturing took the form of a biscuit factory, on the Pinnacles. Owned and run as a co-op, it provided employment to the town for over 50 years, before closing in 2002. It has since been demolished and the site now has small industrial units. At its peak, the factory employed over 500 people.[citation needed]
Unemployment is frequently around 10%,[citation needed] higher than the national average in the UK. Harlow also has a large number of people in social housing, almost 30%[31] of dwellings being housing association and local authority owned, and many more privately rented.
Governance
There are two tiers of local government covering Harlow, at district and county level: Harlow Council and Essex County Council. The district council is based at the Civic Centre at the Water Gardens in the town centre.[32]
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Harlow since the 2010 general election is Conservative Robert Halfon. He defeated Labour's Phil Waite, his predecessor being Bill Rammell, who had been the MP since the 1997 election, but had only held the seat at the 2005 general election by a majority of 97 votes.
In 2015 Harlow was the first town in Britain to take out a district wide injunction against unauthorised encampments by Travellers.[33] However following a court hearing in July 2020 Harlow Council withdrew the injuction.[34]
Transport
Railway
Harlow is served by two
In 2021, Harlow District Council proposed extending the Central line from its eastern terminus at Epping to Harlow. It argued this would reduce travel times to Epping and London, and help with efforts add 19,000 new homes to the town and expand the population to 130,000. However, no funding has been allocated for this proposed extension.[35]
Road
Harlow can be accessed from junctions 7 and 7a of the
Air
Bishop's Stortford is the closest large town to
Bus
Harlow bus station provides a focal point for the town's extensive bus network and serves as a regional hub for the local area, with operators such as Arriva (Herts and Essex) and Central Connect. On top of the prime routes from Harlow to
Harlow First Avenue Multi-Modal Corridor
Location | Essex |
---|---|
Proposer | Essex County Council |
Cost estimate | £4.4 million (2008) |
Completion date | February 2010 |
Geometry | KML |
Essex County Council was involved in development to Harlow's First Avenue, which was intended to reduce congestion and create better transport connections between the Newhall housing developments. The scheme was implemented in two phases, each phase focusing on developing First Avenue on either side of Howard Way. Phase two had an estimated cost of £4.4 million and was due to be completed in early 2010, phase one is already complete and is listed as having had £3.6 million of funding from the Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF).[38] The scheme includes construction of a shared use cycleway and development to the bus service along First Avenue and into the Newhall development site where 'high quality bus' services between Harlow town centre and Harlow Town railway station are listed as part of the intentions of the development.
Healthcare
Harlow is served by the NHS Princess Alexandra Hospital, situated on the edge of The High, which is the main Town Centre area of Harlow. This hospital has a 24-hour Accident & Emergency and Urgent Care Centre.
Education
Harlow contains seven state-funded secondary schools:
- Stewards Academy[39]
- Mark Hall Academy[40]
- St Mark's West Essex Catholic School[41]
- Burnt Mill Academy[42]
- Passmores Academy[43]
- Sir Frederick Gibberd College[44]
- BMAT STEM Academy[45]
St. Nicholas School is a private school in the town while Harlow College[46] provides sixth form and further education and St Mark's West Essex Catholic School and BMAT STEM Academy also provide sixth form education.
Brays Grove Community School and Specialist Arts College closed down in June 2008 due to decreasing pupil numbers over a number of years. Following the schools closure, the site was demolished and redeveloped into a £23 million state of the art Academy which Passmores School and Technology College relocated to in September 2011 opening as Passmores Academy.[47]
In the 1980s a further two secondary schools were closed, Latton Bush (now a commercial centre and recreational centre) and Netteswell (now forms part of the Harlow College Campus)
An international campus of Memorial University of Newfoundland is located in Old Harlow.
Sir Frederick Gibberd College
Named after the prominent architect associated with Harlow, Sir Frederick Gibberd College opened in 2019.[49] Built (to a design by HLM Architects)[50] by Caledonian Modular from 198 prefabricated modules, the school was forced to close in August 2023 due to concerns about structural irregularities.[51][52] The DfE blamed poor workmanship for the structural issues; the school had not been built in accordance with its original architectural design.[50] HLM said the firm had raised concerns with Caledonian's approach to the technical delivery of the designs, both for Sir Frederick Gibberd College and for Haygrove School in Bridgwater; "Unable to resolve our differences, we parted company with Caledonian and the projects were delivered by others."[53] In December 2023, the DfE confirmed that the college would be demolished and rebuilt.[54]
Sport and leisure
Cricket
Harlow Town Cricket Club was formed in 1960 as Stort Cricket Club and plays at Ash Tree Field. The club plays in division 2 of the Shepherd Neame Essex League, runs a junior section that play in the West Essex District Cricket Board League and has a girls team which play other girls teams in the county.
Harlow Town Cricket Club's Pavilion recently underwent a six figure refurbishment to promote women's and disabled cricket in Harlow and the whole of Essex. Essex County Cricket Club Ladies and disability sections use the club as well as the England disability teams.
Harlow has four cricket clubs. Harlow Cricket Club play in Division 3 of the Shepherd Neame Essex League and is based in Old Harlow. The club runs a junior section that play in the West Essex District Cricket Board League. Netteswell and Burnt Mill Cricket Club are based at Harlow Cricket Club, they are a social team that was founded around 1889. Near neighbours Potter Street and Church Langley Cricket Club play in the Herts and Essex League.
Football
The town's football club Harlow Town F.C. play in the Isthmian League South Central Division, having been relegated from the Premier Division in the 2018–19 season.
The club is best known for its extended run in the
The club built a new stadium in 2006 at Barrows Farm, now named The Harlow Arena, with the old Harlow Sports Centre being converted into housing.
Les Smith, a Harlow resident, represented Great Britain at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympic Games. Les became one of the first disabled people to become a qualified football coach in 1993.
Greyhound racing
The Harlow Greyhound Stadium has been at its present site for over 20 years and has regular race meetings each week as well as hosting other sporting events.[55]
Rugby Union
Other sports facilities
The town has a leisure facility named the Harlow Leisurezone, built in the late 2000s next to Harlow College as part of the Gateway Project, which replaced the old Harlow Sports Centre, opened in 1960.[56]
In the 2010s, investments have included its skate-park next to
Art and culture
Harlow is the home to a
In 2009 Harlow Council voted to celebrate Harlow's collection of sculpture by branding Harlow as 'Harlow Sculpture Town – The World's First Sculpture Town'.
As part of the 'Sculpture Town' branding, Harlow is also home to the Gibberd Garden, the former home of Frederick and Patricia Gibberd, which is a managed twentieth-century garden, and home to some of the Gibberd's private sculpture collection.[60] The Gibberd Gallery, in the Civic Centre, contains a collection of twentieth-century watercolours and temporary exhibitions.
Harlow's Playhouse Theatre is in the town, which hosts shows and live comedy throughout the year and is the home to local community Arts group "Livewire Theatre" which has provided free arts access to young people since 2001.
Harlow has a local museum, which hold exhibitions and which contains artefacts on Harlow's historic past, charting the story of the town through the ages. Harlow Museum is in Muskham Road, and is set within the grounds of a sixteenth-century manor building with walled gardens. The museum is run in conjunction with the Essex Records Office (ERO) which holds family history archives in the search room. Admission to the museum is currently free, but visitors are encouraged to make a donation to ensure future maintenance of services.
The Town of Harlow and Harlow New Town are cited in the song "Get 'Em Out by Friday", by progressive rock group Genesis, on their 1972 album Foxtrot.
The album
Harlow was home to The Square, named one of the Top 10 Small Venues in the UK by NME,[62] but the venue was closed due to re-development of the site, and was demolished in 2018.
Media
Harlow is within the BBC London and ITV London region. Television signals are received from Crystal Palace TV transmitter,[63] BBC East and ITV Anglia can also be received from the Sandy Heath TV transmitter. [64]
Local radio stations are BBC Essex on 95.3 FM, Heart East (formerly Ten-17) on 101.7 FM, and Harlow Hospital Radio which broadcast to hospital patients at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in the town. [65]
Local newspapers are Harlow Guardian in print and Your Harlow that publishes online. [66] [67]
People from Harlow
Twin towns
- Havířov, Czech Republic
- Prague 15, Czech Republic
- Vélizy-Villacoublay, France
- Stavanger, Norway
- Tingalpa, Australia
Arms
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References
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- ^ Jones, Rupert (25 August 2018). "As small as 13 sq metres: are these the worst new flats in Britain?". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ Jones, Rupert (16 March 2019). "Is Harlow being used to 'socially cleanse' London?". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ^ a b Harlow Council. "Green Wedge Review" Archived 7 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine, April 2014.
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External links
- Visit Harlow – a website from Harlow District Council
- Harlow Enterprise Zone