ESSEX Police are continuing to investigate a series of fires in a wooded area in the town. A few weeks ago, A YH reader contacted us with concerns that a number of people may have “set up camp” in the wooded area that runs between…

By Local Democracy Reporter Piers Meyler THE number of people claiming unemployment benefits in Uttlesford has increased by almost 250 per cent – the highest increase in Essex. But the effects of the lockdown and coronavirus are also being felt acutely in Harlow, which now…

Update: Friday June 19th TWO men have been charged with facilitating illegal entry into the UK after a lorry was stopped on the M11 on Wednesday 17 June. Mateusz Warpas, 30, and Patryk Galab, 28, were both arrested at the scene. The pair have been…

By Local Democracy Reporter Piers Meyler THE number of people seeing a specialist for suspected cancer after an urgent GP referral is half what would normally be expected prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Soaring waiting lists and plummeting numbers of people receiving treatment show the…

Harlow Shoppers Help Advise How Retail Lockdown is Lifted AS UK retail opened up further this week, shopping destinations have been working hard behind the scenes to get ready to welcome back their shoppers. The Harvey Centre in Harlow has been at the forefront of…

Teachers’ unions have denied suggestions by Conservative MPs they have been “actively obstructive” over the reopening of schools in England. THE House of Commons Education Select Committee, chaired by Harlow MP Robert Halfon, met “virtually” this morning with a rigorous programme of questioning about school…

A MAN who harassed, abused, and racially abused a series of women in Harlow has been jailed. Between January and May this year, 20 year-old Jake Hamill shouted abuse towards eight women on different occasions in and around the town centre. On two separate occasions…

TRIBUTES have been paid to a much loved Harlow resident who has sadly passed away. Hare Street resident Joyce Chidley died on Sunday aged 91. Many readers will remember Joyce as a dinner lady at Hare Street school where she was very fondly remembered for…

ESSEX Police has been successful in applying for a further detention of cash from a Harlow resident. The application to retain £1,642.09 for a further three months was made at Chelmsford magistrates court. The application was against Charlie Jewell, aged 21, of Westfield, Harlow. It…

Garden villages locking-in car dependency, says report ENGLAND’S new garden villages and towns risk becoming car-dependent commuter estates, a report has warned. The government promised the sites would be thriving communities – with jobs, shops and recreational facilities reports the BBC. But research has suggested…

Essex County Council expands its business support service BUSINESSES can access 12 hours of direct support and advice via an Essex County Council business support service aimed at helping Essex get ‘Back to Business’. Working with business advice agency Let’s Do Business Group, Essex businesses…

THE government has announced another 18 schools and colleges handed up to £150,000 each to become “edtech demonstrators” reports FE Week. They will help other schools and colleges to use technology to support remote learning after the programme was repurposed amid the coronavirus pandemic. The…

HARLOW LABOUR WELCOMES GOVERNMENT U-TURN ON FREE SCHOOL MEALS HARLOW Labour has welcomed the government’s U-Turn on free school meal vouchers, something they’ve been calling and campaigning for since writing a letter to the local MP on 21st May. Harlow Labour Council Leader Mark Ingall…

FOLLOWING an impassioned letter to the Government sent by Manchester United footballer, Marcus Rashford, and weeks of campaigning by Harlow MP Robert Halfon, the Government has agreed to extend the free school meal voucher scheme over the summer holidays. The footballer’s letter sparked support from…