Harlow Council leader Dan Swords details council’s achievements and looks to future
News / Fri 11th Jul 2025 at 10:03am
THE leader of Harlow Council has detailed his plans for the town over the next twelve months and beyond.
Councillor Dan Swords (Cons) stood up at this week’s council meeting to reflect on what he saw as the council’s achievements followed by his ambitions for the future.
Councillor Swords has now put in place a senior top team along with a road map on what he wants to achieve.
We will be interviewing councillor Swords next week.
Seamus
2025-07-11 13:47:38
It's like Councillor Swords is playing sims in this town building and see's the people of Harlow as insignificant underlings who once he's voted in, thinks the people of Harlow should shut up for the next four years. We'll, I have some advice for you Dan. You have stated that a number of builds/regeneration projects will be either finished or started this summer. You have till next May and the local/county elections to see these promises fullfilled.
Janice
2025-07-11 17:10:06
I think what the kid doesn’t understand is the idea of phased development / redevelopment. If Mum & Dad are doing up the house, they’ll do the Living Room one year and then when they’ve got the money they’ll let you choose the wallpaper for your room. They won’t, if they are normal, rip out the bathroom and then the kitchen and look around for adoration and someone to tell them what a good job they’ve done, They’ll get the job done. It is how any property developer with any nous works.
Dejected
2025-07-11 17:15:11
Well said Janice. Essex CC need to take heed as well.
Deborah
2025-07-11 17:16:47
The town centre looks dismal, everything is shutting down, Samuels has been in Harlow forever and even that's gone. Went upstairs in the Harvey center and it's like a ghost town. Looks very depressing.
David Forman
2025-07-11 22:27:00
The Broadwalk paving renewal must the slowest paving job in history. The Romans moved faster building their roads. I fear the Ides of March, only in May next year, for the Tories if their projects drag on too long.
Tommy
2025-07-12 06:22:46
“His ambitions” - He seems a little puffed up doesn’t he? Remember Boris Johnson, who saw himself as the heir to Churchill - Never quite made it did he - Janice and Seamus, he’s not normal, he sees himself as exceptional, the male issue of Boris Johnson. Don’t worry, I see the puff being knocked out of him very soon. Like the Lena Zavaroni of local politics.
Derek Clark
2025-07-12 09:22:21
For the first time in more years than I can remember I have seen Harlow being improved everywhere, Dan Swords and his team appear to have spent a lot of time working through how to bring Harlow out of the doldrums at a time when most councils are failing there constituents, we are being treated to an improved town in so many different ways, in the next year or so the people of Harlow will have a much better town to live in and yes times are hard at moment and shops have closed but a rejuvenated Harlow will entice the businesses back into the shops like IKEA, this in turn will give Jobs to people and so lives are improved. Having been here for over 50 years I've seen this town looking like a dump so thank you I'll be looking to keep the conservatives in power as they have a far better understanding of financial matters and the gumption to get thing done.
Stwven Harknett
2025-07-12 10:53:15
All those who eyes and ears know the town centre is finished as a shopping entity. It has been painful to watch. The decline has not happened overnight it has been some 25-30 in the making. Now all we need is the official death certificate which I believe has come in the form of the council owning large tracts of the town centre The fundamental question is what next how long will it take and what benefit will it bring the people of Harlow.
Dr Robert Macdonald
2025-07-12 13:03:27
No confidence in this council particularly led by the current leader... Thanks, but no thanks
Ted
2025-07-12 14:46:16
I think the diminishing Town Centre has nothing to do with any parties that have been in power in Harlow . It's down to shopping on line , clothes and food etc , and large supermarkets moving outside the town centre area. It's the same in most towns. I went to the centre the other day , and there is nothing there that I would ever need (other than the bank) that I couldn't get on line. It's a sorry state.
Ted
2025-07-12 19:18:31
I must say very well described Janice . But I still think it's down to shopping on line , but I take your point. I think you might find it's called the recycling centre.😅
Ted
2025-07-12 19:22:55
And Janice , I don't think you should call Dan Swords a kid , I believe he is in his thirties , Half reform councillors are teenagers. I would not trust them . But really what has age got to do with it. You can fight a die for your country at eighteen.
Janice
2025-07-12 19:54:26
Ted, I had no idea he was in his 30’s - Not so much to do with age, but I think it’s good to perhaps get some experience of living away from home on your own at university or travelling on a gap year and getting into scrapes and making mistakes of your own before you decide you want to shape the lives and livelihoods of others. I wasn’t suggesting that he was running the town while still living in his mum’s back bedroom. I hate it when people say of politicians “He’s never had a proper job”, but if you broaden your horizons and see a bit more of the World, you develop a robustness which —- well some of his comments here, you wouldn’t get from someone who was a little less ‘green’ - Maybe I’ve just lost that youthful optimism and self-confidence!
Tim
2025-07-12 20:01:35
Interesting to hear a (top) senior team put in place at HDC, whilst stating disproportionate level of money being spent on senior management at HTS. A commercial company set up by HDC, HTS generated profits for the council, hit the contractual standards required, purchased a portfolio of properties rented out on the basis that HDC has now adopted for the Burnt Mill flats, had £1.3M in reserves for future investment in transport, plant and machinery, won multiple national awards for H&S, Green and Environmental and CSR, operated under nationally recognised standards, was a disability confident employer, paid the living wage as a minimum rate, created £3M in local social impact etc etc...all against a backdrop of HDC taking money back from HTS in the region of £4M. Not sure I concur with the senior management at HTS being waste as stated by HDC, most commercial companies would give their right arm to have such a successful business, fast-forward a little... 'back to the future' and we are back to 2003, pre Kier and HTS. Reserves gone, portfolio gone, industrial relations broken, disabled people being dismissed, no more corporate social responsibility work by HTS, I could go on!
Seamus
2025-07-12 20:12:11
According to Companies house, Dan Swords is 25. I did chuckle when I saw it lists his company in red as "accounts overdue", a bit like the trouble he has providing accounts for all these projects in Harlow so they can be reviewed by it's residents. I watched the video fully and full marks for the A.I. created speech. The next 10 months will show what has been improved and how much was emperors new clothes.
Frank
2025-07-12 23:03:00
I really hope Mr Swords will be a mayor for our area as he has a great idea for Harlow and he loves Harlow and can see the future, unfortunately we hear the news but don’t see any improvement in the town, the market square was a children’s parks busy in the weekend, kids were playing cricket and football but these was taken away, so Mr Swords you want flats all around the town, and entertainment but please think of the children stuck in the flats please and give them a park in the town
Ted
2025-07-13 07:14:41
Frank. There is the excellent town park. Children should not be playing on concrete
Nicholas Taylor
2025-07-13 12:46:20
Frank, there will only be a mayor for Harlow if there is a Town Council, which it appears our council has no appetite for. The new Unitary Authority will stretch across hundreds of square miles and whats left of Councillor numbers in Harlow will be outnumbered by at least two to one.Got to face the fact that Dan has only lived in Harlow for a handful of years and is very unlikely to stick around once he becomes a small fish in a big pond. That's even without Reform sweeping the board the next time elections take place.
Gill
2025-07-13 14:13:58
Where are we finding the Multimillions to fo this all of a sudden?
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