Letter to Editor: Harlow Green Party members express concerns over investments and plans affecting town
Politics / Sun 1st Jan 2023 at 05:05pm
A LETTER from Harlow Green Party members Yasmin Gregory and Jamie Gilbert.
“I think we all need to be mindful of the ability of the council to create distractions.
It was very difficult to find actual facts of why Occasio House was left empty. If one of the reasons was the cladding used was found to be substandard/not fit for purpose following on from the Grenfell tragedy, the company who built Occasio House should be held responsible for either replacing the cladding so that it was habitable or to face a legal claim.
I do not know why the purchase of the Harvey Centre was made before the funding had been received by Harlow Council. If the housing market is expected to decrease in 2023, does it not follow that commercial property will also begin slowing down and Harlow Council may have been able to negotiate the purchase at a lower price?
With reference to the wonderful story boards and concepts that the council have been promoting, usually alongside a group of developers, I am more cautious.
Until the ink is dry on the agreements from all parties, any project can fail and I am dubious as to when the new hospital will eventually be built if at all. Meanwhile, the current hospital is in dire need of repairs and our dedicated NHS workers are made to work in sub standard conditions AND pay to park at their workplace.
Latton Priory Development is one to watch for 2023. There is a Q&A session on 5 January. I would suggest those residents who are concerned about the amount of private developments and, coupled with that the lack of social housing, attend the Q&A and any other consultation on this project which will have an impact on our traffic flow and pollution. If these developments must be built, schools, health care providers and shops for these developments should be built as a priority, not an after thought.
I am waiting for more information on the cycle path improvements and wonder who was responsible for signing off Gilden Way which could have had a cycling lane to help Gilden Park/Churchgate Street residents actively travel to Harlow Town Station and the Town Centre.
Full, not selective, consultation is needed for these projects for the residents of Harlow to muster some level of trust with the elected councillors.
In the meantime, I would remind Your Harlow readers to make sure they are registered to vote in time for the next local elections in May.
Happy New Year!
Cliff Moore
2023-01-01 18:59:23
Well said - there are loads of questions about these purchases that do not seem to be asked.
Jennifer Steadman
2023-01-01 19:36:24
I am perplexed as to why such enormous amounts of money is planned to be spent on purchases for our town centre when we have 1000's of people on the council waiting lists & 100's of council property requiring emergency repairs, some which quite honestly should be demolished & rebuilt to be fit for living in? One might argue that the funds are coming from different budgets, but I like many others 'move funds' from one budget to another as the need arises & as emergencys arise. I know of families living in housing suffering roof leaks, wiring issues or mould on the walls so thick that you can draw in it!! Knowing that the council have ownership of the Harvey Centre & have plans for outside dining areas in town will be of great comfort to those who live in such squalid conditions in their council home!
James
2023-01-01 20:40:23
It would be useful if the author of this article and other contributors actually took the time to read the Council announcements regarding the due diligence and financing structures regarding the Harvey Centre and Ocassio House instead of engaging in erroneous speculation. Somebody claiming to represent themselves as a political alternative really should do their homework before writing with a complete distortion of the facts. I may have escaped the Green Party’s attention, but the much needed regeneration of the Town Centre was an express manifesto pledge of the current Conservative administration. They are doing what they promised and were elected to do.
Stacy Seales
2023-01-01 22:43:24
The greatest illustration is confusion created from those who TALK to developing Harlow Town without a plan or any desire let alone action except expertise to criticising real actions. There are always risk in every endeavour so shall we continue to folding our hands whilst years on over decades we make promises of a better town without any action? Will this not be deception of promises made across all parties over years to the people of Harlow on what they say they wanted to see? Well finally it is no longer TALK but ACTION so what are we now debating here. In time not too distant, the reality is that without care or a plan Harlow Town was left to decline into the state all complaint about way before Covid-19 and a Tory administration. A town with no plan, direction or clarity of how to rebuild or help it’s residence leaving many to move out of Harlow. It is only NOW very evident to see the unfolding of a plan, care and clarity of the direction Harlow Town will take- History in making to be precise. Change can be receptive , hard to adjust to and resisted simply due to lack of vision. I understand the concerns shown can be part of this above on the contrary change is what Harlow Town needs. Question? Over the last decade Why did all those businesses uproot themselves out of Harlow when the economy was stable if everything was all in working order?? Or perhaps we should debate or refer to the decline of services and closures of building in the last 10 years and lack on local employment. The action taken by the council under a Tory administration, to listen and deliver in such a short time span, the effective changes needed to fulfilling the promises made to the people of Harlow over decades should be credited not criticised. This intentional act of bravery is the best thing that can happen to Harlow Town , the regeneration of it to creating stability, development, financially benefits for businesses and Harlow residents which will eventually create an environment of growth aspiration for local people to dig deeper and achieving whatever they dare to believe they can. Considering there are so many things we can all collectively do in making people lives better than the continuous negatively and tearing down of good things taking place in Harlow. These are times to bring hope , show kindness and building people , make them resilient and self sufficient irrespectively of our political stance is crucial Harlow deserve and has been this opportunity so it can strive. Question is ??? Are you for or against Harlow Town- is all we need to all ask ourselves. And be prepared to work toward this common goal. Stacy Seales
Nicholas Taylor
2023-01-02 00:46:43
James, rather than relying on Councillors (not Council) announcements, I have asked Tom this question and got no reply, where can I find the Council's business plan in respect to the recent purchases? Indeed any record of the due diligence and financing structures you refer to? We who of course will be paying for the recent purchases by way of tax, have a right to have information available so that we can hold Councillors to account if need be in the future.
gary roberts
2023-01-02 09:13:55
James I wonder if you could provide full details of the dealings surrounding the purchase of the Harvey Centre and Occasio House given the electorate will be responsible for the debt even if the alleged currently unfunded purchases go through? You see I was under the impression that the Conservative party always included a section in their manifesto' telling the electorate how wasteful the Labour party has always been with their money and taxes. Could this not be similar in nature to what your party always accuses the opposition of doing? Indeed wasn't that the policy of the former prime minister Elizabeth Truss and failing very badly.
Nicholas Taylor
2023-01-02 09:49:53
Jennifer, since the early 1990's the money obtained from rents etc and the money spent on maintaining council homes, known as the Housing Revenue Account has been "ring fenced" which means that money cannot be transferred from what is known as the "general fund" that is council and business rate tax to the Housing Revenue Account. The purchase of the Harvey Centre has been purchased by borrowing money and cannot be spent on repairing Council owned homes. I am afraid that the comment made by Councillor Stacy Seales does not leave me with much confidence in the Tory group, it is just more smoke and mirrors in order for developers to make millions of pounds profit and leave the town with a worse housing crisis than before.
Nostradamus
2023-01-02 10:40:40
Buying the Harvey Centre is a pig in a poke. The original owners must have seen the Council coming because the market is falling like a stone and their experience had shown them that town centre and high street shopping belongs to an era before covid, on line shopping, high car congestion and dreadful public transport. Hoping that building 10000 exec homes across the border in Herts will regenerate a town centre that's never going to bring back top stores is wishful thinking, the Gilston Neighbourhood hggt pfp plans degenerate Harlow as an urban pit. The developers of Gilston Estate actually say that the whole character of their development will be to distance Gilston from Harlow in character and by design. It's clear that the execs from London won't shop in Harlow just drive through to Epping Station as described by N.Polaine : hggt's top executive. Both Labour and Conservative Parties have run the quality of services in the town down over the last 40 years and now the Tory "plan" is to trash the green environment by passing the Eastern Crossing, by channeling pollution, congestion and traffic into the town from j7a, A414 and Gilston, to promise to build a smaller hospital out of town sometime never (whilst PAH falls apart) and to cramm hundreds of hi rise rabbit hutch flats in the town centre all of which strategies are fundamentally flawed and undermine the only rational plan for Harlow, that of Sir Fredrick Gibberd. 12 years of Tory political dogma has run the country into the ground whilst both lining the pockets of crooked PPE providers, nom doms, property developers and speculators and selling off control of major utilities to foreign governments. COVID is no excuse as with energy, decades of failing to learn lessons, the country was and remains highly vulnerable & BREXIT just another major own goal. "House of Cards", "Yes Minister " or "West Wing" politics: not even the most imaginative comedy/ tragedy script writers could have made it up.
Nicholas Taylor
2023-01-02 12:24:33
It is still not to late to sign our petition against the proposals to allow the building on the Green Belt around Harlow. It can be found here https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/stop-building-on-harlow-s-green-belt
Stacy Seales
2023-01-02 20:07:26
Mr Taylor, Wishing you a prosperous New Year, one that will bring and restore hope with developing Harlow Town and making it great. It is said “Nothing good comes without sacrifice” and this one will be the re-making of Harlow Town. It is natural to question and scrutinised the entire process and some having various theory. The new developments will bring various other type of people in Harlow who will bring in different opportunities and stability.
Kim Oconnor
2023-01-02 20:21:16
Well said nosradamus,,and Nicholas'.
Nicholas Taylor
2023-01-02 23:39:09
Well Stacy, that's what your Party said when it passed legislation to convert offices to flats and look what happened there. "Bringing in other types of people", well that just about says it all for the Tories. It does nothing to help those of us already here. 10,000 more people have arrived in Harlow in the last 10 years and that has not helped me and my neighbours. The fact is the residents of all the new homes and businesses built around Harlow will pay no Council Tax or business rates to HDC, to help regenerate the town as a whole.
Paul
2023-01-03 17:38:12
On 9th May 2020 the Conservatives announced a £2 billion package to improve cycling and walking (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/2-billion-package-to-create-new-era-for-cycling-and-walking). This included Statutory Guidance for local authorities to "reallocate roadspace for significantly-increased numbers of cyclists and pedestrians". Harlow already has an extensive cycleway network, but it is in desperate need of long overdue maintenance and refurbishment. In parts it is dangerous to use where utility companies have sporadically dug up the routes to bury their pipes and cables for new housing developments. The resulting patchwork re-surfacing leads to ruts, holes and un-even surfaces, lengths of cycleways dangerous to cycle on. Since the announcement in May 2020. I ask what money if any has been specifically spent on repairing and maintaining Harlow's cycleways? HGGT have continually promoted and boasted availability of funds toward provision of sustainable transport corridors including walking and cycle ways. Have any of these funds found their way to maintain or improve Harlow’s existing cycle infrastructure for existing Harlow residents? Why aren't improvements already being made using funds from HGGT infrastructure monies or are these monies only to be spent on new routes from HGGT to Harlow Town Station and no further
Nicholas Taylor
2023-01-04 09:09:41
I think Paul you will find this money was set aside to build new cycle tracks, indeed even if it wasn't, that is what Councils will want to spend it on. Bearing in mind the rush to build Latton Priory, you would think that detailed plans of the sustainable transport corridor linking the Town Centre and Latton Priory would already be in the public domain. The recent Latton Priory literature shows what looks like a tram type system, when we know all they really mean are electric buses. The proposals would cut a swathe across a number of the towns green wedges, despite this, no public consultation with residents across Harlow has taken place.
Colin
2023-01-05 12:22:04
Will these purchases & develop plans bring people to Harlow? My personal opinion is that it will not. Having lived in the town for nearly 70 years I've only seen it deteriorate from what was a thriving town with a Community spirit to what we have now The last major social housing project was in 1974 at the Katherine's /Sumners Estate. Harlow is fast becoming a ghost town with empty shops which have been unoccupied for several years the Council should have looked at the reason why this is the case before contemplating purchasing the Harvey Centre which has a car park which can't be fully used & a lift which frequently breaks down plus escalators still under repair Will the major proposed developments at Wych Elm,College Square, East Gate & the Bus Station be of any benefit to those on the housing list?
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