Harlowbury: Meeting Housing Need in the Green Belt

Study area sketch plan of residential proposals

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On the western edge of Essex, with good rail links to London's many employment opportunities and to Stansted Airport, lies Harlow. The original village features in the Domesday Book and still exists as Old Harlow but is best known as a post-war new town, built to alleviate overcrowding in the capital. Its masterplan was drawn up, in 1947, by Sir Frederick Gibberd and Harlow is the site of Britain's first pedestrian precinct and residential tower block, now a Grade II listed building.

The town is in the M11 growth corridor and is required to deliver substantial residential development by 2021 to help meet housing demands in South East England. One mixed-use development, including 1,200 homes and a two-form entry primary school, is proposed for land to the north of Gilden Way. LDA Design was appointed to prepare a masterplan; produce the design and access statement; co-ordinate the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and undertake the ecological assessment and landscape and visual impact assessment for the outline planning application. The brief also incorporated landscape design and input to the public consultation.

Existing townscape, landscape and heritage features, topography and character of the site were all acknowledged in the design to reinforce and enhance the existing landscape structure. The proposals include six hectares of public open space and a further six for formal sports pitches.

The scheme's proximity to Green Belt land, the Gibberd Garden and two scheduled ancient monuments makes the site particularly sensitive. A series of public consultation events were held to ensure that local people were informed and given the opportunity to respond to the proposals. Further consultation with English Heritage and Essex County Council, during the EIA process, addressed archaeological sites in the vicinity to respect their sensitivity and afford a high level of protection within the design.

Landscape, heritage, ecology, transportation and sustainable drainage were major considerations in shaping the masterplan, leading to a design strategy which successfully meets functional and aesthetic requirements while integrating with the local transport network, existing communities and local townscape.