Transformational Harlow Town Centre regeneration scheme recognised at National Planning Awards
News / Sat 17th Jun 2023 at 09:57am
PLANS for the transformation of Harlow town centre’s bus station and Terminus Street have been recognised at a national level.
The project was shortlisted for an award at the 2023 Planning Awards, which took place on Thursday 8 June 2023.
The awards showcase the outstanding work across the planning and placemaking sectors and recognise excellence in planning and associated placemaking disciplines, including heritage conservation, urban design, economic development, partnership working, environmental consultancy, housing and law.
Featuring in the placemaking category ‘Award for Fostering a Healthy Town Centre’, the new transport hub and interchange, supports the major transformation of Harlow town centre.
The hub and interchange is designed to support both existing transport routes as well as new sustainable transport corridors, which will promote cycling and walking, that are in development. The revamped area will include green spaces, an active events space, a cycle hub and other public realm improvements that will overhaul the character of Terminus Street and make it a more welcoming place in which visitors and residents will feel safe and connected.
Councillor Dan Swords, Leader of Harlow Council, said:
“I am delighted that our plans to rebuild Terminus Street and the bus station as part of our town centre regeneration programme have been recognised and shortlisted at the National Planning Awards. However, these are not just plans – work will be starting in the coming months to deliver this major scheme.
“The landscaping, public realm and build quality that will feature in the new interchange and hub, which has all been made possible by the government’s £23.7 million Towns Fund investment that will also transform Broad Walk, will create a place that people will enjoy visiting and travelling through whilst seamlessly connecting with the high street.
“And of course, this is just one part of our work in regenerating our town centre, albeit a major one. We are still committed to entirely rebuilding our town centre, building new council homes, fixing council homes and restoring pride in the town.”
Bruce Downey
2023-06-17 10:14:36
The Good News Just Keeps Coming..😃
gary roberts
2023-06-17 11:04:18
Cllr. Swords is brilliant: He can read Conservative media blurb and believe it. Must be Saturday, will it change on Monday? To develop the Terminus Street bus station while cutting local buses must be an excellent example of political dogma gone wrong and while many cannot even afford the bus fare. All they have to do now is claim the well-being hub in Potter Street will be built in months. Oh they did that back in February 2022 and the building is still derelict. Go figure!
Simon
2023-06-17 11:10:24
Great news will look lovely with those 40 new hospitals. It's Tory - so it wont happen.
Bruce Downey
2023-06-17 11:32:15
Bad news spreads like wildfire, but good news only reaches a few people and then seems to stop. It’s because of negativity bias..
Nicholas Taylor
2023-06-17 11:50:47
This is truly just another example of politicians wasting public money. There is absolutely no evidence that a new bus station just yards from the present one will increase footfall. With dwindling bus services across the country, poor time keeping, usually using buses decades old and using pot holed roads has meant that the number of people using a bus has dramatically reduced in the last decade. This money would have been better spent proving a couple of park and ride schemes so that those visiting the town and Edinburgh Way shops would have a direct link and thus had an alternative to using a car to visit the Town.
Novoman
2023-06-17 17:11:34
Awards like this aren't even window dressing: any one looking at the design exteriors of the buildings and the wind tunnels formed by the cluster of high rise buildings on top of a hill can see it's just plain ugly and impracticable. With the hospital being moved 4 miles out of town into Epping Council district the footfall from all those employed by PAH (many who live near the town centre), patients and visitors will all be gone: speeding the downward spiral. When London Boroughs shipp out their problem residents into the high rise flats then we will hit rock bottom. Never mind the developers will make a profit and that's all ok then!
Rob Bennett
2023-06-17 19:21:42
Like putting filler in a crack , but filler won't change a muggers paradise, drug riddled shit hole !!
Jim boyce
2023-06-17 19:56:02
Surely the priority is to sort out the ghetto which is the old cinema area . Absolute disgrace
: a k garner
2023-06-18 05:11:07
Half the shops in the town centre have shutdown and yet a transport hub is being built! This project needs to be shelved immediately. This is a criminal waste of money. If Harlow Council is unable to carry out basic repairs to homes then all building projects must be frozen (especially when they're as pointless as this one).
Nonio
2023-06-18 06:59:21
Harlow - recognised nationally for their redevelopment plans but apparently don't have enough money to keep the street lights on so make their residents pay for it... Excellent.
Rob
2023-06-18 08:08:33
Essex CC are responsible for street lights
Nicholas Taylor
2023-06-18 09:05:21
: a k garner, the repair of council owned homes can only be paid from rent income, the money for regeneration cannot be used to repair houses. Rob. Harlow Council are paying ECC to keep the street lights on at night. The fact is, the Council are not even looking after the shrub boxes along Broadwalk or trees across the whole of the town and yet here they are, intending to plant trees and create shrub beds across the whole of the Town Centre with little if any thought about how all of this is going to be kept in good order. A regular deep clean and maintenance programme and new paving for the existing bus station would be far cheaper than the present plan and serve passengers just as well.
Kim Oconnor
2023-06-18 09:32:55
Mr Hardware said your building 99 council houses, this will change again at last minute,, no dought . You have 5,000 on waiting list, just how many will be affordable. Up against thousands an thousands of unaffordable homes. Is this really thinking of the Harlow people, no, it's just lining your pockets as per... Lovely bus station, shame there's not many buses, through cuts again.
Edward bird
2023-06-18 10:27:10
Hi I here the figure for bus refurbishment is around 15 million so would not the money be better spent getting our bus services working again manor hatch close which has a oap residendence have no bus service yet ghis council want to yet again refurbish bus terminal money would be better spent reducing the rents on the over 40 empty shop units to encourage businesses into the town ,this would increase footfall in town money being spent by people therefore more chance of encouraging our town center after all ghis council among other local councils like to put prices up especially when any residents in communal heating systems are being charged between 40% and 50% more than offgems energy cap and most of these residents are not allowed to shop around and are usually disable,or pendioners
David Forman
2023-06-18 14:56:21
I hope the new bus station has: (a) walls that meet the ceiling; (b) doors that are able to be closed automatically; (c) seats not made of metal or other cold conducting material that gives one arse icicles; (d) heating in winter and cooling in summer; (e) a refreshment kiosk; (f) a security guard at night; (g) toilets open long enough to prevent people peeing in a doorway and (h) toilets that are cleaned regularly so that people don't have to carry a clothes peg (for their nose). Not too much to ask for in the 21st century.
Seamus
2023-06-18 16:17:14
The last time the bus station was torn down and rebuilt was only 19 years ago. It would seem that either (1) the council are in a habit of approving long term costly projects that only last short term, (2) They hope by polishing a turd and covering it in glitter, it will fool people back into the town centre (it won't), (3) the council just like wasting money whilst putting up the council tax or (4) all of the above.
Concerned!
2023-06-18 16:40:23
Another complete waste of money. A new bus station for the free bus pass brigade, very little recoup of this money via inward investment from company's! Good companies, good well paid local jobs is what Harlow needs! What happened to the tech park? Harlow's silicon valley lol Nope, another new bus station. Increase electic charge points for the so called electric car reveloution, nope...bus station for 1/4 full buses.
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