Behind the scenes of Building Harlow’s Future – Council Leader’s weekly column

EARLIER this week, I was stopped in Asda (other shops are available!) by a resident to say how quickly a repair had been completed in his home. It was a small moment, but it reminded me that council housing is at the heart of our community and just how much has changed.

Harlow has an incredibly proud history of council housing. It’s woven into the very fabric of our town – a town built to give people good homes, aspiration, and opportunity. Most people in Harlow grew up in a council home, and many of our families’ stories were shaped by council housing – as mine was.

Even with the Right to Buy, which allowed thousands of residents to purchase their homes, Harlow Council is still the largest council housing landlord per capita in the East of England, with more than 9,000 homes.

But the truth is that, for too long, standards fell short and there were too many failures in the duty as a landlord.

Those failings were laid bare to me when I became the Leader of the Council, to such an extent that:

Two in every three council homes had an outstanding repair.
Residents were waiting over nine months on average for a repair to be completed.
The council had built almost no new council homes in nearly four decades.

Council homes were not prioritised for Harlow families – even those born and bred here.
Residents waited an average of 16 weeks just to find out if they were even accepted onto the waiting list.
There had been decades of underinvestment in both our housing stock and housing services.

Most council homes hadn’t been visited by the council in years, except for repairs or gas servicing.
There was no clear understanding of the real condition of our homes.
And the Regulator of Social Housing issued a damning judgment exposing deep failings in our duties as a landlord.

For each of those failings, there was a reason – or an excuse – depending on your view. I recall saying the week after I became Leader, we were going to clear the backlog in housing repairs that year and being told that I “didn’t quite understand” and that I should “reconsider such a commitment”.

But it was clear that it required a complete transformation – not a tinkering at the edges. So, working with some of the very best people I’ve ever had the honour to work with, we drew up a new plan – bold, ambitious, and relentless in its focus on outcomes. A plan to rebuild trust with tenants, restore pride in council housing, and put quality at the heart of everything we do.

And today, that transformation is not just underway – it’s delivering results that would have been unthinkable a few years ago:

We now have the lowest number of outstanding repairs ever recorded.
The average wait for a repair has been slashed from over nine months to just 25 days.
We are building more new council homes for Harlow families than in the previous 30 years combined.

We’ve completely overhauled the council’s housing allocations policy so that every council home is now for a Harlow family – giving top priority to those born and bred here and those in greatest housing need.

Residents no longer wait weeks for an answer about their place on the waiting list – it’s now immediate.
We are investing more in our housing and services than at any time in Harlow’s history – over £136 million this year alone, a 23% increase on last year, and double what it was just five years ago.

Every council home now receives a full tenancy audit at least once a year, ensuring we know every home, every tenant, and every issue.

A full internal and external specialist survey of every single council home is nearly complete – giving us, for the first time, a complete picture of the true condition of our housing stock.

And we are delivering a transformational Consumer Standards Improvement Plan agreed with the Regulator.

None of this progress would have been possible without the extraordinary people working tirelessly behind the scenes. Their dedication, care, and pride in serving Harlow are the heartbeat of this transformation, and it is because of them that tenants are starting to see the services they deserve. Every single day I am in awe of their commitment and passion.

I won’t pretend that everything is perfect – it isn’t. There is so much still to do. But what I can say, with complete conviction, is that Harlow Council’s housing service has been utterly transformed by some truly remarkable staff. The difference today compared to just a few years ago is night and day.

Every week I meet residents whose lives have been improved by this work. Tenants who tell me their long-awaited repairs have finally been completed. Families who are set to move into brand-new council homes. Staff who speak with pride about the homes they manage.

These are the moments that remind me why we do this – because council housing in Harlow is not just about bricks and mortar. It’s about people. It’s about community. It’s about pride.

I can say hand on heart that a proud new chapter for council housing in Harlow is here – faster repairs, new homes, record investment, and a cast-iron guarantee that every council home is for a Harlow family.

We’ve turned the page – we’re investing in our housing.

And we’re Building Harlow’s Future.