18 Oct Cabinet pushes ahead with first steps of Harlow town centre regeneration
A blueprint which will help to inform developers and guide planning decisions for the regeneration of Harlow Town Centre has been approved by Harlow Council.
Last Thursday (14 October 2021) Harlow Council’s cabinet approved the draft Town Centre masterplan planning document which will now go out to public consultation before it is adopted. The document will provide a strong planning framework for the town centre to control and shape how the town centre is regenerated by guiding planning applications that come forward to the council.
Councillor Dan Swords, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, said: “We are taking the action necessary to get on with the job of rebuilding our town centre and this is the first significant step to doing so. This document will provide the planning powers needed to guide us towards the first stages of that rebuilding.
“As I have made clear many times, we are going to deliver a once in a generation programme of regeneration to transform our town centres into one of the best hubs for shopping, leisure and entertainment in the country and this document kicks off the journey to doing just that by ensuring only the right development takes place.”
Councillor Michael Hardware, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Strategic Growth, which includes planning, said: “We need a masterplan which both encourages the right investment into our town centre, but also controls what development takes place, so that we can deliver our plan to completely regenerate the town centre.”
The document is one of a number of important steps the council is taking to provide the building blocks for its plans for the regeneration and renewal of Harlow.
