Harlow Council defer decision on demolition of Sherards House
News / Mon 10th Jul 2023 at 09:44am
PROPOSALS for the construction of 14 new council houses in place of Sherards House in Harlow has been deferred by Harlow Council’s planning committee.
The proposed development on Three Horsehoes Road comprises the following:
6 x two-bedroom dwellings having a gross internal floor area of 80m2;
5 x three-bedroom dwellings having a gross internal floor area of 96m2; and
3 x four plus bedroom dwellings having a gross internal floor area of 109m2.
A number of local residents spoke against the application.
The residents realise that the proposal is part of the Local Plan but as you may see they have a number of objections that cover a range of reasons.
Film of the item is below.
Full details of the proposal is below.
https://moderngov.harlow.gov.uk/documents/s23764/HW-FUL%20-%2022%20-%2000106%20Sherards%20House.pdf
Kim Oconnor
2023-07-10 10:04:12
You councils won't be happy till you take every piece of history from this town... that's it in a nut shell.
No
2023-07-10 10:41:07
Harlow council at there finest…. Getting rid off another piece of history. Embarrassing from this disgrace off a council.
Nicholas Taylor
2023-07-10 11:18:23
The Harlow Alliance Party has supported the dozens of residents who have objected to this proposal since the outset and we were all very surprised to learn that despite the effect this will have on adjoining homes none of the Councillors had ever paid a visit to the site. It also came as a surprise that there was a supplementary proposal to stop parking on the access road, an issue which the Council has never consulted residents on. To their credit, having listened to the objections, Councillors agreed to defer the application pending the receipt of more information. We can all agree that more new council homes are needed, but the present plan is poorly designed and represents over development of the site. It is also worth noting that non of the Ward Councillors attended the meeting to support residents, including Cllr LeMay who of course has only attended one meeting in 7 months, ironically it was at the last meeting of this very committee. Nicholas Taylor, Leader of the Harlow Alliance Party
Seamus
2023-07-10 13:49:05
Given Harlow council has the head start of owning the land, why not build another retirement complex? There are many elderly holding onto council properties that are far too big for them but won't move because their houses have family history BUT would move if there was a decent standard retirement home/complex. Freeing up under utulised stock whilst building for an ever growing elderly population would help both sides of the coin.
Phil
2023-07-10 18:05:46
I agree with Seamus. Build specialist sheltered housing or a care home in order to free up rented accommodation. There's not enough of this in Harlow. For what there is there are long waiting lists.
Colin
2023-07-10 19:16:49
I was at that meeting the planning 0fficers had not visited the site yet were quite happy to ruin a beautiful old house and rip out all the trees.The plot is far to small for all those houses the area cannot cope.traffic is all ready a problem in the three horseshoes road all so the Jerome's the roads are not wide enough. I agree with shamus better used as a retirement home.
Nicholas Taylor
2023-07-10 22:50:14
Seamus, Phil, Colin, from the outset in January 2018 the Harlow Alliance Party said that the Council are building the wrong sort of council homes. All of them should be for older tenants, who could downsize from their present homes which in turn could be given to families. The present administration are following in Labours footsteps because they have no concept of making the best use of the land resource they have. In time the new houses will be sold to the sitting tenants, meaning these new homes will be lost to the Councils housing stock. The private sector do not build bungalows, there is not enough profit in it for them.
CP
2023-07-11 06:41:23
Some of these comments about older people giving up the family home and going into a retirement home are shocking. My mother is in the family home,wherr every room is very much in use where her grown up children grandchildren and greatgrandchildren regularly visit and stay over,How would that work in a retirement home/ sheltered accomodation? My mum would never want to live in one of those places and she shouldn,t have to. Its almost as if the elderly are being expected to not have a social life or any life,its not the elderly living in homes that as some suggest are to big for them but the problem is to many people from everywhere else living in council homes in harlow,why should my mother have to give her home up when she has been in this town forever? Its not my mother and her generation that are the problem.A retirement home.Never.
Owen
2023-07-11 06:46:11
The housing situation in harlow is the same as any local area hard and been made harder by those who object to development of the area they live in the local council needs houses for people to live in not residential homes for elderly why would you give a property you've lived on for years up no one can force them out of the houses
Nicholas Taylor
2023-07-11 07:19:30
CP and Owen, no-one is forcing anyone out of their home, we are talking about the many council tenants who wish to downsize but what is on offer in Harlow is very limited. Bungalows such as at Woodwards and others around the town are evidence of one of the key design points about Harlow from the outset, providing a mix of dwelling types to suit every generation. There are many council tenants wishing to downsize. Saves on heating bills, attending to a large garden, cheaper council tax and not having to have adaptations carried out if one becomes less mobile. Same goes for the private sector of course, there is very little such accommodation in Harlow. As a previous housing manager at Harlow Council I said to residents time and time again "move when you can, not when you have to".
CP
2023-07-11 07:54:37
Some people really do believe that older people living in council homes that are to big for them now should be forced out,judging by some comments as if the elderly dont matter. My mother has no problems with anything and her garden is a nice size and she keeps it beautiful and very well mantained and she does it all herself and she is 80. Her whole house is very well mantained which is more than i can say for a lot of houses with younger people living in them.As i said in my other comment my mums bedrooms are all very much in use because she has grandchildren and great greatchildren who love to visit and stay over and so she has a nice balance of everything and a lovely home where she has lived for over 55 years.For my mother to leave that home would be the end for her. Some people havethe attitude of out with the old and in with the new.my mother would never want to go into a retirement home/ complex. Some peoples attitudes honestly.
Karen Mash
2023-07-11 08:30:07
I have lived in Harlow all my 63 years and gone are the days when you get married and 2 weeks later get offered a 2 bed flat. Move on find a solution build for those families who need it and not for those who know how to play the system! No one worries when old Bungalows particularly in Old Harlow (that where there before Harlow New Town existed) get planning permission and are demolished and re-developed into 3/4/5 bed houses for private sales. But you jump on the local authorities when they come up with a solution for council tenants, yes it is is a beautiful house and yes it would be a shame to lose it, so use it when you build the new houses bring it up to date there are 2 small terrace houses there already built. Use some imagination with what is going to get built there!! Someone needs to do something instead of worrying about our History as there is not a lot left of the original town left anyway. Let’s worry about now and how the future can be changed for the next generations.
Kim Oconnor
2023-07-11 08:30:31
I'm afraid every body's situation is very different.. no one can force you to down size... that has to come from you.. that's not what Nicholas is saying.... But unfortunately in Reality, a lot of people have to give there homes up for so many reasons, that comes with getting older.... we have people in high rise flats with disabilities, that should not be there, so many reasons, so many different situations..... the point is..... we need to provide adequate accommodation for theses people...... And this is not happening..... because there's no profit in it for them...
CP
2023-07-11 09:09:52
If we wasn,t overpopulated in harlow then we wouldnt have tokeep buliding more and more and more homes. When is it going to stop? When harlow has been completely damolished and all its history gone and when there is no green spaces or pathways left to walk on.There will be no shops or anything left in this town and all it will be is literally homes. Its shocking.
CP
2023-07-11 09:11:24
Karen i am a bit confused by your comment.
Seamus
2023-07-11 12:35:57
CP, no one has mentioned forceably turning elderly out of their homes and I'm not sure where you got that from? We do have a backlog however of those who can no longer manage a full size house/garden and would love a retirement bungalow in a complex full of a similar aged group for support. At the momment, various builders and the council are hell bent on everything being about first time users whilst ignoring the backlog at the retirement end.
Nicholas Taylor
2023-07-11 17:34:12
Quite agree Karen, the house should be converted into 4 good sized flats just as it has been in the past., again to be used for older people. As the number of older people increases and we live longer the need for homes suitable for the older generation increases.
James
2023-07-12 08:16:02
Many valid comments and observations here. The fact is that building new homes in Britain to meet demand is unsustainable. The problem resides not so much on the supply side as the demand. Between 1973-1998, the UK population increased from 56m to 58.5m. However, over the next 25 years it rose by 9.5m to 68m. Last year there was a net increase of 606,000. If this continues, by 2046, when today's youngsters will be seeking homes, we are looking at a population of around 84m that equals about another 15 Birminghams in the next 23 years! The problem is demand caused by unabated population increases. No easy fix. As for Harlow, constrained within its tight boundaries and desiring to retain its green areas, we will soon reach saturation point. We already have one of highest densities of population of the Post-war New Towns.
Kim Oconnor
2023-07-12 09:39:59
James Leppard, I think most people are aware of the increasing population.....the fact is, you still have to build for the elderly, and people with disabilities..... theses people must not be forgotten.... it's not all about first time buyers, but even them will struggle to get a mortgage.... we have people in high rise flats with disabilities, we have elderly people , no longer able to stay in there homes........ you all ways avoid the questions....
James
2023-07-12 11:30:57
Kim O'Connor, I am not so sure that people have fully digested the consequences and implications of relentless population increase. I am not against having more suitable accommodation for the elderly and disabled nor for increases incentives for those willing to downsize; on the contrary. However, who is not addressing the question is you and several others. Harlow has less than 12 sq miles of territory. 1980 was when the district was last expanded eastwards to the M11. The area now accommodates Church Langley and Newhall. At that time the population was under 80,000. It increased from 81,944 in 2011 to 93,300 in 2021 and is estimated to be 95,000 at present. That is a 17.2% in crease in just 12 years. However, we do not have one inch more of territory. You, please tell me how this is sustainable. It is not a simple question of private, affordable and social housing; we have virtually no space left and will not (as with the country as a whole) be able to cope with the inexorable increase in population.
Janice Holt
2023-07-12 13:05:36
As new elderly (80 plus yrs) residents to Harlow, we have read, with interest the comments regarding Sherards House. We downsized to a bungalow. Our choice entirely. We live in the area of Three Horseshoes Road. Our major concern for this possible development of Sherards House and or new builds is the way the road is used as a rat run by extremely dangerous and selfish drivers. The Council housing would accommodate adults and children creating more cars. Not to mention the elderly people in residential accommodation hoping to cross the road to take a walk. The elderly still do enjoy such pursuits as walking. Should this development go ahead, we sincerely hope that it doesn't. Then the very least the Council can do for the residents who are already living there is to install a speed camera, making sure it is active at all times. We think the Council will be surprised at the income from the camera. The bends are extremely dangerous.
Kim Oconnor
2023-07-13 09:28:25
James Leppard,, when plans were passed for all houses around our boundary s, how many are affordable...and how many were built for the elderly.? You do the big talk on space,, but you councils and developers do not built enough of them, theses should of been included, in all new builds.. and I think we all know why... because they don't make a profit... As it is the promise of affordable housing was dropped significantly on last consultation.....
22 Comments for Harlow Council defer decision on demolition of Sherards House: