Stockland were formally appointed by Harlow Council and Harlow Renaissance in January 2009 as the preferred developer for the Town Centre North Scheme following an OJEU procurement process.
During 2009 Stockland and their professional team worked with us in developing a detailed scheme for implementation. An agreement was signed between Harlow Council and Stockland in May 2009 to provide a framework within which a detailed scheme could be developed, leading to a legally binding Development Agreement and submission of a planning application within 15 months.
An extensive consultation process was launched in July 2009 which included a public exhibition in the town centre and also at the Town Show in early September of that year. These attracted more than 2,500 visitors and generated a significant amount of support for the proposals.
Significantly, more than 90% of respondents recognised the need for regeneration in the northern end of the town. Of the 450 completed feedback forms received by the end of August 2009:
- 91% felt that the area identified as Harlow Town Centre North was in need of regeneration;
- 83% felt that the proposals on display were a good way to provide regeneration; and
- Many felt that Harlow’s overall image would improve as a result of the plans, helping to put the town ‘back on the map’ while driving other redevelopment schemes in Harlow.
Following this and other feedback from the consultation, Stockland began to refine the plans prior to submitting a planning application. However, in early 2010 Stockland’s main board in Australia took a decision to withdraw entirely from the UK market due to their perceptions of the medium term economic prospects. As a result they also withdrew from the Harlow scheme as well as many other projects across the country.
Whilst this was disappointing, a significant amount of development work was undertaken during Stockland’s time in Harlow. All of the materials produced by them passed free of charge with full copyright to Harlow Council. The Council are now embarking upon a process to appoint a new developer which it expects to complete in the autumn of 2011.
It should be noted that the images which appear on this page of the website are those produced by Stockland and do not therefore relate to any current proposals for the development of Town Centre North. They are included here simply as part of the archive of the work of Harlow Renaissance for historical interest.