Harlow Council unveils major transformation of Harvey Centre as multi-million-pound upgrade begins within weeks
Lifestyle / Mon 2nd Mar 2026 at 08:18am
WORK will begin within weeks on a major transformation of the Harvey Centre, as Harlow Council today unveiled ambitious plans to modernise the town’s shopping centre as part of its mission to “rebuild our town” and Build Harlow’s Future.
The council is investing millions of pounds in a comprehensive upgrade programme designed to strengthen the centre’s role at the heart of Harlow and unlock a new era of growth, confidence and opportunity. The upgrades will also support the council’s work to attract new high-quality shops to the centre.
The Harvey Centre remains one of the council’s strongest-performing assets, welcoming more than 5.8 million visitors over the past year. With consistently high occupancy levels and financial returns exceeding forecasts, the centre’s success has enabled the council to reinvest directly into the town centre and bring forward this major programme of improvements.
The upgrade programme will include:
- A striking transformation of the car park exterior and surrounding areas
- Refreshed, modern signage throughout the centre
- Brand-new escalators
- Significant structural and aesthetic enhancements to the multi-storey car park
Together, these improvements will give the Harvey Centre a contemporary new identity – enhancing the visitor experience and attracting high-quality shops to Harlow.
The upgraded car park will complement construction already under way on the new Harlow Arts and Cultural Quarter. Its redesigned façade also draws inspiration from the neighbouring Water Gardens, reflecting the area’s heritage while looking firmly to the future.
This latest investment forms part of what is the biggest regeneration programme ever delivered by a UK district council, with construction progressing at the Playhouse Quarter, Market Square, the Strawberry Star site, the bus station and other key town centre projects.
Unveiling the plans, Councillor Dan Swords, Leader of Harlow Council, said:
“We are rebuilding our town centre, with construction now under way in every corner, and today I’m announcing the next major step: a significant transformation of the Harvey Centre, with work starting within weeks. The rebuilding of the town centre is no longer a promise – you can see it with your own eyes.
“We are actively working to attract high-quality new shops, and this major investment gives us the modern, high-standard environment those brands expect. It sends a clear message that Harlow is moving forward. The Harvey Centre has consistently outperformed expectations since we took the bold decision to buy it in 2022, and we are reinvesting that success directly back into our town. This transformation will enhance the experience for residents and visitors alike, while accelerating the next phase of regeneration across the town centre.
“The car park upgrade alone will turn a dated concrete structure into a striking new façade that complements the Harlow Arts and Cultural Quarter now taking shape. We said we would transform the whole town centre – and we are delivering on that promise.
“Step by step, investment by investment, we are building a modern, vibrant town centre you can be proud of as we Build Harlow’s Future.”
T Ruth Sayer
2026-03-02 08:42:37
There are no high streets any more anywhere, shops are closing, there is no interest. This will be a white elephant
Darren
2026-03-02 10:46:53
New look, same old squeeze in tight when parking :( I stopped using it due to space issues and I only have a VW Polo !! Too many large posts too.
Pete
2026-03-02 11:17:32
Hi Dan, expect to be headhunted by the Iranians soon, they will need a bit of rebuilding. Seriously, all looks good and you say financial returns are better than expected. T Ruth, did you miss this bit?
Chris
2026-03-02 11:20:05
Without investment Harlow will go into terminal decline.By improving the infrastructure and attracting new businesses,people will visit and help create wealth for the town and ensure businesses thrive and people have employment opportunities. The illustration of the new Harvey Centre is just that as it hasn't been built yet so not fake news. So much negativity on this story already ,this should be a much needed boost for Harlow,without it, Harlow will shrivel and die. The Water Gardens area appears to be thriving with smart quality shops so we know what Harlow can become. Given the size of Harlow, we should be a destination town for this part of Essex not an embarrassment.
Stuart J
2026-03-02 11:40:25
So the Council believes that by enclosing it in a rusty looking box will improve its looks. Cheap and cheerless how l would describe it. How about complete demolition and rebuilt with a brick exterior, with a level floor parking interior, slightly wider parking bays and no supporting pillars in the parking bays that obstruct opening your vehicles doors. And probably add another couple of floors on top to increase the car parking capacity.
Mr George
2026-03-02 12:16:37
It's great to revamp a tired, tatty part of Harlow, but boy, that's so ugly it's depressing. Horses for courses I suppose.
Seamus
2026-03-02 12:22:39
It's a car park! Why spend millions on it to look rusty and tired when very few are going into the Harvey centre. If you want to use money wisely and increase footfall in the Harvey centre, make parking in the Harvey centre Free.
Seamus
2026-03-02 13:11:40
Why spend millions to make a car park look like a rusty box? That's not fiscally responsible. You know what is? Making car parking for the Harvey Centre free. Run the scheme for 6 months and if it increases foot traffic in the Harvey Centre then you have your answer.
Scott Warwick
2026-03-02 13:41:17
A bit optimistic when you cannot get into,or out of the town,due to traffic jams,which are due to mismanagement of road 'Upgrades'. Yes,this is obviously an opportunity to pilfer the public funds do you think ? Who exactly is going to use the Harvey centre,the same clientele that use it right now,that is who,and the shops in the Harvey centre are dying a slow death.These businesses' cannot compete with online shopping,or the fact that no one has the money to be frivalous with.If I can see,a mile off,that this is yet another joke 'Investment' in a rusty looking,old revamp of a dead concept..ie; 'The shopping centre',then surely these extremely qualified,ultra visionary professionals should see it as well ? Why save money,then invest in more badly needed housing,when you can just waste it instead ? Harlow has become a joke.
Scott Warwick
2026-03-02 13:45:19
If a pensioner wants a loaf of bread,or an alcoholic wants a can of special brew....yep,you now know where to come.
Pete
2026-03-02 14:06:27
Scott, open your eyes, the other day it was reported how popular Harlow was with first time buyers, look at the fabulous new David Lloyd centre and the Innovation park. Visit the park and count the runners doing the park run. Of course not everything is perfect, it never is, but at least we have a council giving it a go. But if you can't see any positives, how about you share your ideas, I am sure Dan will listen.
Chris
2026-03-02 14:19:43
Well said Pete, I thought I was a voice in the wilderness.
Res
2026-03-02 14:41:20
Looks great! Keep going
Eileen Dover
2026-03-02 15:28:59
I like the improvement to the car park already. From a safety aspect it will deter anyone who wants to use it to exit this world, as there looks to be no large gaps in the design of it, so no chance of anyone jumping over! It looks aesthetically-pleasing and far better than the current grey and miserable-looking concrete, which is a throwback to the 1970s. Please can we have some decent shops. Some of us don’t want to schlep down to Lakeside or Chelmsford for the privilege, but would rather spend our money locally. Can’t and won’t do that if the shops are mediocre. High streets die because of the lack of decent shops, so people shop online, or go to places like Lakeside or Bluewater. Then all the locals moan because their high street has gone to pot…it’s a vicious circle. Harlow is not just an area full of council properties these days, lots of private housing developments have sprung up, so theoretically people have a bit more money to spend. Let them spend it locally.
Eileen Dover
2026-03-02 15:44:36
@Pete - Half the problem with Harlow is that it is chock-full of moaners who cannot see beyond their own front door. Any positive changes and they are quick to jump on the moaning bandwagon. Anyone with a brain and a computer can see that all the improvements have been budgeted for by the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town fund. People ask the same old questions time and again…”where is the money coming from?” Don’t the people of Harlow read? I think it’s a wonderful thing that Harlow was chosen for this major upgrade and fair play to Dan Swords and Harlow Council for implementing it and having the foresight to buy up the existing infrastructure in order for them to improve it! You can’t demolish a building which somebody else owns!!
karl phillips
2026-03-02 16:50:29
RAVE ON....
Jay
2026-03-02 17:03:35
More excellent news- as a first time buyer who was born in London and didn't want to leave but had to inorder to buy, I am delighted with the progress Harlow Town has made in just the 3 odd years my family and I have moved here! Clearly too many moaners here, Harlow is on the up, more Londoners moving here who have full-time jobs back in London and the area is getting fixed all over! Brilliant! Now we need a central line extension or one from Cheshunt and then we will be really up there! All in good time I hope x
Mr George
2026-03-02 17:05:48
Eileen, people don't shop online because the shops close, they're closing because people shop online. It was a huge part of the decline of the high street, tho not 100% responsible granted.
Chris
2026-03-02 18:31:47
Agree with Jay. Harlow is what it is. Convenient, green and with decently built houses. No point trying to imagine it will become a quaint market town and frankly why should we want it to be? Young families wanting to make their lives here is all Harlow needs. Oh, and to take down the flags, which are an embarrassment.
Chris
2026-03-02 18:34:02
Two separate Chris’ in this btl discussion but both positive!
Kim O'connor
2026-03-02 19:09:40
People moan, because Dan swords doesn't listen. People only want good for this town, we want good revenue coming into this town, to make it thrive. People have been crying out for a regular week day market, but Dan decided it would be better with a huge fountain there instead. We now have more traffic lights all over the place, holding up even more traffic, in unnecessary places, that the roundabout s, will be chocker. We are going to have a shiny new town, but Dan has no idea what will ever be there. . We all want to see it thrive, but really, what business is gonna move or expand, with the hikes as it is.. businesses are laying people of up and down this country.. Is it really the right time ,to be doing this. . Or as the first comment said, we will be looking at a white elephant. Guess we want know till it's built, I suppose.
Eddie
2026-03-02 19:21:15
Kim. Traffic lights have nothing to do with Dan Swords or Harlow Council, Thats ECC doing. And i think your find there is going to be a market. Please make sure you have all the facts before making yourself look silly.
Eddie
2026-03-02 19:33:55
Mr George. I think your find most clothing for instance bought on line goes back again for not being the right size or inferior materials. Also there is a delivery charge. I agree with Eileen. And George, the shops were here long before online buying was. Buying from high street shops you can at least see and try on what you are buying. I know what I prefer to do.
gary roberts
2026-03-02 19:36:15
Does anyone know if the council has bought the Odeon site? If they have how much did it cost?
Guy Flegman
2026-03-02 22:24:56
If they want to improve the town they need to improve the traffic first. When the town was designed they left green spaces at the sides of all the major roads so they could be turned into dual carriageways in the future. This never happened and instead they built some bus lanes just as people stopped using buses( once we had large busses only in the town, we have smaller buses due to lower demand). I have lost count of the number of businesses I have encouraged to move to Harlow that have said no purely on the traffic problems. I myself live 2.5 miles from my place of work( been there 43 years). And since 2004 my journey time has been steadily increasing from about 10 min to about 45 min. FIX THE TRAFFIC AND YOU FIX THE TOWN.
Em
2026-03-03 00:56:32
Apart from it being rust coloured, it looks nice in the concept art, especially lit up at night. We all know part of the reason theybare enclosing it, which is also brilliant they are taking a stance to prevent t anyone else from jumping off of it. If any of you can't see the good in that, you need to have a serious look at yourself. They coukd have just put bars all over it and made it look like a prison instead.
Nicholas Taylor
2026-03-03 08:27:00
All a matter of opinion of course but it is clear that many people already think this looks awful. I suggest readers look on google earth at the car park near the train station at Stevenage. In my opinion this looks much better. I do not believe that picture will encourage more people to visit the town, what shoppers want is a clean, well lit, safe and cheap carpark
Ron
2026-03-03 08:47:00
Good job, about time.
Robert
2026-03-03 10:38:31
This will be great to climb.... beat climbing frame ever....can't wait for the first person to climb it
Kim O'connor
2026-03-03 10:46:47
EDDIE.. I THINK YOUR FIND THE TRAFFIC HAS A BIG INFLUENCE ON REVENUE COMING INTO THE TOWN WHEN TRAFFIC IS A NIGHT MARE PEOPLE GIVE UP COMING..IT MAY BE ECC WITH TRAFFICLIGHTS, , BUT DAN SWORDS HAS TO APPROVE THIS. HOW ARE WE GOING TO HAVE A MARKET, WITH A GREAT BIG FOUNTAIN THERE... IM NOT TALKING STUPID POP UP MARKET S, IM TALKING A REGULAR WEEK DAY MARKET, LIKE WE USED TO HAVE, PEOPLE LOVE A MARKET, IT BRINGS REVENUE INTO A TOWN.
Matt
2026-03-03 11:56:01
Kim, if a regular market is what people want why has it not already returned? Answer is there may be some people who want a permanent market back, but not enough people. If, as you say everybody wanted one, someone would have noticed that and already brought it back to make money. On the topic of the car park, I actually quite like it and I would be willing to bet a large proportion of people do actually quite like the aesthetic. Cover up the horrid brutalist concrete structure.
Mr N Gunning
2026-03-03 13:03:06
Aesthetic improvements, like the waste of space that is now broad walk. It looks like a cheap warehouse. Another number of years of disruption to add to the rusty flower beds, that could have been replaced by market stalls and attractive venues. Clueless.
Kevin
2026-03-03 14:07:18
Can't wait to see this, any improvements should be good and positive and it will hopefully follow through with the new Playhouse quarter. As for Dan Swords, there are more improvements going on around this town due to him and his team than there has ever been, yes it is slow, but things are now moving. Once finished it should be a town we are all proud of so well done.
Gonestone Pigledge
2026-03-03 15:51:38
Progress ia far better than stagnation . Look forward to it .
Mr George
2026-03-03 16:12:47
Eddie, I agree, better to try in shops but I am not making it up for the fun of it. If you don't believe me, google the information for yourself. Shopping online is something like 30% of trade now, and it's part of the decline of the high street. Why would shops have many stores if they can do better online with fewer overheads? It makes better business sense for the companies to go with what is popular.
Eddie
2026-03-03 17:44:12
No need to shout Kim😅. If you can't have an adult discussion without getting stroppy, perhaps you should not send in posts. Also can you prove without doubt Dan Swords has final approval over ECC, what is done on Harlow roads.
Eddie
2026-03-03 17:55:33
Dont worry about proving it Kim. Just checked on Google. Harlow councillor Dan Swords (lower tier) has no power over County Council (Higher Tier) . So did you make it up?
Eileen Dover
2026-03-04 01:03:49
Mr George - shops were closing long before online shopping became a regular thing. In the old days of the town centre, going back to the 1970s, there was such a choice of shops up the town. There really was something for everybody and the place was always packed. Kim O’Connor - as for the regular market, again, it was so busy during the 1970s/80s, but then along came North Weald market on a Saturday and everybody flocked to that place and then wondered why Harlow market disappeared. No doubt those same people are longing for the days of the once-convenient Harlow market. That said, Romford market a thriving and lively place in its heyday, all disappeared and is a shadow of its former self. There are many factors why a once-lively market no longer serves the needs of the local people. Farmers markets came along in various towns, charging ridiculous prices for ‘artisan’ goods, most of which seemed to be picked up from Amazon, Temu or Ali Express and marketed as home-made! Yeah right! I think perhaps the Council could maybe do a mini-market with a few stall holders in an area and see how well that does. Who knows, a market may become a popular feature again.
Terry Killner
2026-03-04 04:45:39
Eileen, your argument is tired and old - much like you i suspect. The 1970s is not and was not a perfect time for anything. There is a reason change occurs, things get replaced and built better. The 70s is not a good case argument for anything - absolutely. If your argument is that just because the market was popular 50 years ago or so, then the whole town is evidently on a decline since then, then you are using a false equivalent to justify an unchanging and outdated mindset.
Mr George
2026-03-04 09:51:38
Eileen - believe what you want to believe. All the information is there to have if you ever want to go fact finding.
Kim O'connor
2026-03-04 11:02:26
EDDIE,, NO ONES SHOUTING, I PREFER TO RIGHT IN CAPS, BECAUSE ME EYES AINT SO GOOD. 😁 Who ever says , there's been no call for a regular Harlow market. Really arnt listening Really to what people want. And the excuse s can keep coming, because the reason that the market failed was because of the hikes Harlow council placed on them. Eddie, so you think Dan swords never had a say about the traffic lights.??
Nicholas Taylor
2026-03-04 13:32:40
Well places like Epping, Waltham Cross and Hoddesdon are very busy on market days so clearly there is a demand for a market. The issue here is that we have a council looking to attract a better, higher spending visitor, one who lives in an expensive flat (no affordable housing here please!) in the Town Centre, with bars, restaurants and night clubs. All this at a time when the hospitality businessis is on it's knees. Much of the governments attempts to "level up" towns (of which there was little if any way to measure this and how successful it was) has seen tens of millions of pounds spent on buildings, rather then improving the lot of the people. Surestart centres, play schemes, free access for young people to attend activities and learning would have been a better way to spend money and investing in the young of today who feel that they are being left behind.
Eileen Dover
2026-03-04 16:01:00
Terry Killner - anyone who has to resort to using insults to get their point across is not worth listening to, but on this occasion I will make an exception. Shopping habits change and to be fair, it’s not me who was talking about Harlow having a market again, I believe that was Kim. I personally am unbothered whether a market is there or not. I was giving the 1970s as an example and I was giving North Weald as another example of one of the reasons Harlow market declined in its popularity. As for the town centre regeneration, a few decent shops would be a start. If the town centre is to attract not just Harlow residents but out-of-towners, give us some better-quality shops to rival that of Bluewater or Lakeside.
David Lawrence
2026-03-04 16:53:58
Urrrggghhh! What a horrid looking building!🤮Looks as though, it's made from rust?
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44 Comments for Harlow Council unveils major transformation of Harvey Centre as multi-million-pound upgrade begins within weeks: