HUNDREDS of thousands of social and affordable homes, including 60 per cent for social rent, will be built and standards will be driven up under plans by the Deputy Prime Minister to usher in a decade of housing renewal across the country.  A Labour Party…

SIR Frederick Gibberd College is pleased to welcome the appointment of Ms Jo Doyle into her role as Headteacher from Monday 3rd November 2025. Ms Doyle joins the school from Rokeby School in Newham, where she has served as a highly successful and respected leader.…

FOUR police front counters will be scrapped in Essex, and nine staff will be made redundant. In an announcement on Tuesday (July 1), Essex Police said front counters at Braintree, Clacton, Basildon, and Harlow Police Stations will be closed from July 11. The force is…

HARLOW’S bin crews continue to deliver an exceptional bin collection service, achieving a 99.9% on-time collection rate and maintaining high standards of reliability. Regular reports go to Harlow Council’s Cabinet on how different council services are performing. The reliability and quality of bin collections continue to…

A NEW school for Harlow will open by September 2026, according to Essex County Council reports the Local Democracy Reporter. Harlowbury Primary School – a single-form primary school with 210 students in Old Harlow- is due to be relocated to Gilden Way and expanded to…

AN Essex mental health trust has been warned it must implement measures to prevent staff without basic life support training from working on its wards reports the Local Democracy Reporter. A prevention of future deaths report has highlighted failings by medics to resuscitate 75-year-old Carol…

A LIVELY rally demanding an end to British arms exports to Israel took place in Harlow Town Centre last Saturday (28 June), attended by a cross-section of local residents. It was organised to protest at the British government’s ongoing arms sales to Israel and Harlow’s…

HUNDREDS of bodies responsible for overseeing and running parts of the NHS in England will be scrapped, the government has said reports the BBC. The organisations to be abolished include Healthwatch England, which advocates on behalf of patients, and the National Guardian’s Office, which supports…

FOOD businesses must make it easier for customers to buy healthy food, under new government plans announced on Sunday reports the BBC. Supermarkets and food manufacturers in England will partner with the government to tackle obesity rates by encouraging people to make their weekly shop…

THE Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Essex County Council Adult Social Care services as good. This follows an assurance process that began in May 2024. The CQC published their report today (27 June) and scored the council 73%. The report highlights the council’s commitment…

HARLOW Council is delivering over 1,000 new parking spaces in housing estates this year as part of its Building Harlow’s Future plan – doubling last year’s figure of 500. Tackling estate parking challenges is a key part of the council’s mission to ‘renew our neighbourhoods’.…

A PLANNING application for an allotment on a new housing estate is set to go before Harlow Council’s planning committee. The application is for the erection of 58 sheds and 60 greenhouses on allotment site. Each shed would have a maximum floorspace of 2.3 sqm,…

THE government is currently reviewing how councils in Greater Essex are structured and believes reorganising and simplifying councils can help grow the economy while delivering better public services. Reorganisation would replace 15 councils that currently serve Greater Essex with a smaller number of ‘unitary’ authorities.…

ON the one year anniversary of the Labour government, a new MRP poll from communications agency PLMR and Electoral Calculus reveals that Reform UK is on course to become the biggest party in the East of England and form a majority government at the next…