Dear Editor,

IT comes as no surprise that on February 25th, members of the Planning Committee B at Epping Forest DC (EFDC) are being recommended to refuse a Planning Application in respect of Latton Priory.

The development on Green Belt land adjacent to Harlow’s border is a key part of the plan of the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town (HGGT) Board, chaired of course by the Leader of Harlow District Council, Cllr Dan Swords.

The Harlow Alliance Party (HAP), now known as the Harlow Residents Alliance (HRA), was the only political party which participated in the public examination of the EFDC Local Development Plan back in 2019.

It argued the case that such a development was not necessary, was not appropriate and residents in Harlow as a whole had not been given the chance to comment on the proposals.

In summary, some of the key points of the Plan were:

The number of homes proposed had been increased from 1050 to 1300.

In order to mitigate the huge increase in traffic using roads in and around Harlow, both during construction and once constructed, a sustainable transport corridor would be built to create a direct bus link from the development to the Town Centre and on to the Gilston Development. A new road would be constructed from the development to connect to the B1393 near to Junction 7 on the M11.

The EFDC Local Development Plan identified that 40% of the homes needed to be “affordable”.

So, after almost a decade from when this site was first identified for development, what has come forward in the Planning Application?

Firstly, back in 2019 HAP argued the case that in terms of the number of new homes required within the HGGT area, there was no need for this development at all. As more Planning Applications have come forward since 2019, whether in Harlow or areas such as at Thornwood, building on the Green Belt has become unnecessary. Despite this, the plan still identifies the “need” for 1300 homes.

Secondly, the developers do not want to make any contribution to the cost of building a new sustainable corridor. Instead, they put forward that extra buses and tweaks to existing roads in Harlow will enable 60% of the travel taken by residents will be by bus, cycle or walking. In addition they only want to construct a road to the B1393 once 800 homes have been built.

Thirdly, to make a profit from this development, the developers state that less than 5% of the homes built will be affordable homes. This makes a mockery of the number identified in the EFDC Local Plan.

In fairness, most of the organisations which have been consulted, which includes Harlow Council, HGGT and Parish Councils object to permission being given. However, what is interesting to note is that only one person or organisation is allowed to speak at the Planning meeting and none of the comments made by individual residents appears on the Council’s website even in redacted form, hardly a good example of good resident consultation and involvement..

The HRA continues to take the view that this development is wholly unnecessary and any benefits (if there are any) are far outweighed by the detrimental effect it will have on those of us who already live in Harlow.

Nicholas Taylor, Leader of the Harlow Residents Alliance