Council housebuilding programme delivering high-quality homes for Harlow people
News / Sun 20th Jul 2025 at 08:14am
HARLOW Council is delivering on its mission to ‘rebuild our town’ with construction moving at pace all over the town on new high-quality council homes for families on its Housing Needs Register claims Harlow Council.
Phase 1 of the programme has seen new homes completed at Bushey Croft and The Hill, with a total of 18 homes built, and a further 50 will soon be ready to welcome Harlow families at Staple Tye and The Woodleys.
In addition to these, work is now underway on at Elm Hatch, the former Sherards House site, the Yorkes, Arkwrights and Pytt Field with work soon beginning on the site of the former Potter Street Neighbourhood Office.
The council is currently building more council homes than in the past 30 years combined. All are built to the highest possible standards of quality and energy efficiency, all going to Harlow families on the Housing needs Register.
The homes currently under construction are being built in partnership with Hill Group via the Harlow Regeneration Partnership and will revitalise former derelict and left behind sites.
Progress on the programme’s first phase was presented to Cabinet last week (10 July).
Commenting on the progress, Councillor Dan Swords, Leader of Harlow Council, said:
“Our Building Harlow Future plan clearly sets out that we will successfully complete phase 1 of our council house building programme. This will deliver much-needed council homes at social rents to meet the growing demand in Harlow and revitalise place where our residents live.
“Our progress to date puts us firmly on track to successfully complete this first phase in our once-in-a-generation council housebuilding programme and, with so much work already completed and much more to come, we will soon have new, high-quality council homes for Harlow families. Alongside our changes to how we allocate council homes, every single one of these new homes will go to Harlow families.
“And we are set to go much further, with work already taking place behind the scenes to identify suitable sites for even more. We will deliver on our mission to rebuild our town, make a genuine, positive difference to people’s lives and build Harlow’s future.”
gary roberts
2025-07-20 09:18:37
Where is the evidence that these homes will go to "Harlow people"? Where is the evidence that these homes will go to those on the housing needs register? Where is the evidence that these "council" homes will still be council homes in ten years if that? To answer clearly and positively on any of these questions the right to buy council homes must be abolished now. The Burnt Mills flat development clearly shows that in that only 52 [30%] of those flats were earmarked for people on the housing needs register. Perhaps Cllr Swords can answer those reasonable questions? Will he? Can he? I have my doubts.
gary roberts
2025-07-20 12:10:13
And now the former Potter Street neighbourhood office will be destroyed leaving the area no chance of restoring local council services. Sadly the people voted last May for its removal: was it a case of apathy? Has anyone got a spare ticket to Vancouver in October?
Ted
2025-07-20 12:53:20
Where is the evidence they won't.
Dejected
2025-07-20 16:05:29
I will post again. You won't get a reply Gary as he knows you are right.
gary roberts
2025-07-20 17:19:43
Ted can you answer your own question? Or perhaps you can answer the questions I posed to the leader of the council who should know the answers: shouldn't he? If he doesn't know then we should all be concerned because the residents' will be left with a massive bill.
Seamus
2025-07-20 18:38:28
The quality for a family to live in is important. I say that looking at picture 2. Building council homes with the minimal size foot print that you have to go up three stories just to swing the proverbial cat around is akin to putting 3 small portacabins ontop of each, it can often be suffocating. Build the houses right and families flourish.
Tony Wiseman
2025-07-21 11:36:05
Obviously Seamus I do not know where in Harlow you live but the footprint of the 3 story houses above looks very similar to those of the 2 story 3 bedroom houses built in the 1950s and 60s, for example Arkwright's, Long Ley, Broadfields, The Downs, The Dashes, Whitewalls etc, and no one turned their noses up at moving into those. I would also point out that none of the people who I know who grew up in those houses have arrested development.
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