“Un-costed, unenforceable and unachievable” Labour Leader sends message of “Buyer Beware” to residents as Tories unveil draft Town Plan
News / Mon 13th Sep 2021 at 05:47pm
AFTER attending a three-hour Cabinet meeting last week, I have come away none the wiser about how the new administration intends regenerate our town, other than continue with the projects ear marked by the last Labour administration says Harlow Labour leader, cllr Chris Vince.
The draft Town Plan – which seems to have attracted media attention due to its pie in the sky dream of bringing the London Underground to Harlow – is nothing more than a slim, overarching document based on existing plans and policies. Furthermore, the Tories are proposing a town wide consultation on the document that is neither scoped nor costed. Are they really going to spend taxpayers’ money on a consultation on a plan which will not be legally binding and which smacks of a vanity project?
The entire proposal is un-costed, unenforceable and unachievable.
Don’t get me wrong – the Labour Party fully supports greater connectivity for Harlow and wants to see the town with a new lease of life after more than a decade of central government cuts to local authority spending. A more realistic plan would be to extend the Oyster card scheme, which already extends out to Grays, to Harlow. If Harlow
Conservative Councillors are complaining about the price of travelling to London, perhaps they ought to have a word with their friends in Westminster. Sadly we all know what will happen. When the plan to extend the Underground fails, the Tories will blame the Labour Mayor.
There were some positives to come out of the meeting. £1.1m saved by the last administration is correctly being spent on fire safety work to Harlow’s tower blocks, something both sides of the chamber agree is important. As Cllr Wilkinson who held the position of portfolio holder for housing for nine years stressed, Harlow continues to lead the way on fire safety in our tower blocks.
The other positive was the Carbon Management Plan which as Labour group leader I wholeheartedly support. I’m proud that in the past five years, Harlow Council has reduced carbon emissions by 39% and I will work with the new administration to achieve the new targets which are necessarily ambitious. I hope they take up Cllr Harvey’s suggestion about supporting residents to get dropped kerbs so that they can have accessible electrical vehicle charging points on their own properties in the future.
Cllr Chris Vince
Labour Group Leader
novoman
2021-09-14 07:53:03
If Labour and Tory Parties agree to go green, then how about stopping the Stort River Valley Eastern Bridge Barrier Raised Road Crossing that the developers say will have an embodied carbon footprint of 19.5 million kg of carbon dioxide emissions ever year just by being built, equivalent to 160 million km of car journeys per year, before a single car travels along it, that will destroy carbon absorbing flood plain, destroy habitat, build culverts that to replace more eco friendly open streams and increase the likelihood of flooding and traffic congestion in Harlow, all to the benefit of East Herts Herts Gilston Estate development, part of the 23000 non green homes hggt project that will overload Harlow town? Not against new homes but the fact.that the whole project could be done ultra green by using other transport options and routes, not by despoilling the Stort Valley Valley natural nature reserve, not by sending all sewage and surface water from Gilston into the Valley in the direction of Harlow. As seen by recent flooding and discharge of raw sewage in the Valley and Harlow, the Harlow system is already unable to cope. The mini city plan proposals include 130000 new houses that would destroy the character and environment making Harlow an even more expensive place to buy a home as it becomes an unfilled commuter belt dormitory town. Bigger is not better. People value the character of the town that our local.politicians have been degrading for years. List what's gone over the last 30 years and note what wasn't built back better. Both Tory and Labour parties would do well to think of the Chesham and Amersham by election result this summer.
Shirley Cranswick
2021-09-14 11:57:20
You talk about the draft town plan as a vanity project and a burden on taxpayers money, but you say nothing about the cost of the VANITY PROJECT that was going to be a MONORAIL system for Harlow, a brainchild of whoever in La our run Harlow Council. Millions of pounds were spent on this VANITY MONORAIL system that wasn't fit for purpose as it didn't allow people to access the Industrial areas in Harlow, so all the money spent on consultations and engineers etc which was in the millions before a spade was even put in the ground, was then shelved. WHO paid for all of that PIE IN THE SKY idea! Harlow taxpayers, that's who. The money could have been spent on many more things that the town needs, like NEW COUNCIL HOUSES. And the person that came up with the ridiculous idea and the cohorts that went along with paying out all the money for something that never came to fruition, they just shrugged their shoulders and went home at the end of the day. Labour run Harlow treated the town and finances like it was monopoly money. Why weren't they brought to account for this!
Tony Durcan
2021-09-14 12:42:31
Shirley just to confirm there was never any plan for a monorail this was a political Tory spin to avoid the need to talk about public transport
Chris
2021-09-15 06:24:10
@Tony Durcan Harlow Labour are proposing a transformational METRO system comprising ultra-modern E-trams. Running on tyres along single track. That is a pretty good description of a mono rail (single rail). Link below direct from labour Harlow website.... Please be aware of local happenings! https://www.harlowlabourparty.org/an-exciting-new-public-transport-system-harlow-metro/
Paul Henderson
2021-09-15 10:18:57
Dear Cllr Durkin. I think you need to check our own Harlow Labour Party website where the plan for a Metro/Monorail (name is not of paramount importance) is set out in detail. What is of significance is that it cost over £100 million, had no budget and no authorisation. How much did the former Labour administration waste on consultancy fees for this fantasy? Check this link as proof of this mad scheme! https://www.harlowlabourparty.org/an-exciting-new-public-transport-system-harlow-metro/
Paul Henderson
2021-09-15 16:40:03
No comment from Cllr Durkin. Now, that is a surprise! Just full of hot air and misleading statements.
Shirley
2021-11-14 12:37:59
Thank you to Paul Henderson and Chris for the added information. I think Tony Durkin should go back to Nursing. At least he could empty some of the bedpans of the stuff he spouts off about Politics and Harlow.
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