NAISHA Polaine has announced that she is stepping down as Director of Harlow & Gilston Garden Town. 



Appointed in March 2021, Naisha will leave the HGGT project, one of the biggest regeneration and development initiatives in the country, at the start of December before taking up a new role with Barnet Council in the New Year.



Speaking about her decision, Naisha said: “We have achieved so much over the last three years in the Garden Town and I’m proud to have evolved the project from planning and policy to one that is now delivering on the ground. 

“We are pioneering and will continue to be so.



“With the new HGGT Joint Committee overseeing delivery on behalf of our five council partners, we have brought decision making out into the public so that local residents and businesses can have their say. 

“It is a fantastic governance model that can provide both unified and cross-boundary leadership to make the local area a go-to-destination for housing, education, employment, leisure and retail.”



“With a planning application now submitted for our new community at Latton Priory and the East of Harlow neighbourhood progressing towards its first houses, it feels like a good time to pass the torch to someone else who can oversee the next chapter of the Harlow & Gilston Garden Town story.” 



Under Naisha’s leadership, the Garden Town partnership has an agreement of approval for 10,000 homes across seven new villages at Gilston and set out the requirement for £1.3 billion investment for Harlow & Gilston through new and improved infrastructure.



This summer also saw HGGT unveil targets of 20,000 new jobs over the next two decades with potential for the local area to grow twice as fast as Cambridge and expand quicker than Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool.



“Harlow’s history as a New Town is well documented and my aim from the start was to reboot the legacy left by Sir Frederick Gibberd’s masterplan and transform the area into a place that will provide wonderful opportunities for current residents and those that follow in the future.

“To quote the great man, Harlow is an organism which would go on changing and being rebuilt as the needs of the people altered,” said Naisha.



Chair of the HGGT Joint Committee and Leader of Harlow Council, Cllr Dan Swords, paid tribute to Naisha’s tenure as Garden Town Director.

“Naisha Polaine has brought energy and expertise to HGGT and has been pivotal in laying the foundations for Harlow & Gilston’s fantastic future. 



“The project is in a great place thanks to Naisha’s leadership with houses about to come forward across multiple areas of the Garden Town alongside transformational infrastructure investment.



“We have the first phase of the Sustainable Transport Corridor under construction and an employment ambition for the local area that gives residents a glimpse of what Harlow & Gilston can become.

“On behalf of the Garden Town’s five council partners, we thank Naisha for her wonderful contribution and wish her every success with Barnet Council.” 



YH will be endeavouring to find out if and/or when Ms Polaine is being replaced.