Dear Editor,

I NOTICE in the Harlow Times that Councillor Michael Hardware celebrates the population increase from 81,900 to 93,300 between 2011 and 2021, claiming it a sign of how ‘Harlow is a welcoming, friendly place’.

How many of these new residents have been forced out of their previous homes by social cleansing, to live in sub-standard repurposed office blocks such as Terminus House. In 2020 there were 12 office block conversions in Harlow with at least one BBC investigation into how damaging these ‘ghettos’ are for those unfortunate enough to live in them.

Robert Halfon himself called for these to be scrapped in 2020 but as far as I can tell they are still in use, Terminus House is a particularly visible example, being central to the town.

Harlow residents didn’t welcome these conversions and certainly haven’t welcomed the influx of additional residents without any investment in local infrastructure. The promised hospital seems to have been mothballed, the promised jobs at Public Health England haven’t materialised and in the meantime, GP surgeries have closed, schools are creaking at the seams and people who have been on the waiting lists for housing are still waiting. In fact, it appears people who don’t regularly chase their progress are deemed ‘no longer in need’ and removed from the list.

Local residents are seeing green spaces disappearing, being replaced by monolithic blocks that are too expensive for the majority of existing residents who urgently need housing. The countryside surrounding Harlow is being eroded by ‘villages’ which are basically additional housing estates lumped onto the outskirts of the town, again, without any thought to the strain on services. The intent being to attract commuters priced out of London, the knock-on effect being pricing Harlow people out of Harlow and reducing our quality of life. As it stands Harlow is almost at a standstill during school pick-up and drop-off times, where was all this extra traffic supposed to go? Oh right, we’re all supposed to walk, cycle or use the bus. Have you actually met people?

Harlow is ranked the 9th most child poverty area in the county and people rating their health as very good is less than the national average. Add to that woeful record the fact that Harlow is already the 8th most densely populated local authority area in the East of England and things are not looking good for Harlow.

So Councillor, how is this growth and proposed future growth benefiting anyone in Harlow? Will we just get more flower pots, tables and umbrellas in the market square to cheer us all up? Can we sit there while we’re on hold for hours trying to get a GP appointment? When is enough, enough? When is too much, too much?

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