Infrastructure

No, all our predictions about the impact on transport are evidence based. We have engaged in detailed discussions with Essex and Hertfordshire County Councils in respect of transport modelling for Gilston Area and the wider Harlow area. With the provision of appropriate mitigation, the transport network is expected to be able to accommodate forecast growth.

All promoters of the Gilston Area, as well as the Council, have undertaken recent engagement with Thames Water who, following the completion of recent capacity assessments, have concluded that the Rye Meads Sewerage Treatment Works can be upgraded to support forecast housing/employment growth.

The Gilston Area development will provide sufficient local health services and facilities to meet the needs of the new resident population, whilst also benefiting the existing surrounding communities. We are aware that the NHS Trust are considering options for the relocation and/or expansion of the Princess Alexandra Hospital to meet forecast growth requirements.

Places for People is working with a range of public service providers, including the NHS and emergency services to ensure that they have the physical capacity to provide services to existing and future residents.

In some cases, this will involve them taking space on our site, in others they may prefer to make additional provision elsewhere. In many cases this will involve decisions at a county (or higher) level about the configuration of services and the most appropriate locations for delivering them – it is not just a matter for us and our site.

Our site is within Hertfordshire so most service providers are based there, such as East Hertfordshire District Council, Hertfordshire County Council and Hertfordshire Police. Some health services are provided across Essex and Hertfordshire, including the ambulance and most hospital services.

Infrastructure delivery is a big investment and therefore requires careful phasing, so that physical infrastructure can be financed and delivered on site to support the delivery of the new homes and close working with the public sector agencies in terms of service delivery for the new and existing residents.

All our infrastructure phasing – road improvements included – will be closely tied to housing delivery to ensure that adverse impacts do not arise. All infrastructure delivery to accommodate up to 10,000 homes across the Gilston Area, prior to any housing starts simply isn’t practical or deliverable. Infrastructure will be phased to match the delivery of housing.

Places for People supports the initiative taken by Essex County Council to promote transport improvements that will assist in the economic development and regeneration of Harlow. Good transport links are important to enable Harlow to grow in terms of both jobs and homes.

We support the proposals for Junction 7A and associated highway improvements as set out by Essex County Council. We encourage the authorities to progress with the scheme as soon as possible in order to assist with the regeneration of Harlow, including the Enterprise Zone and new homes.

We are keen to continue to work with the local transport authorities and other stakeholders in the progress of the scheme and its co-ordination with the proposals at Gilston Park Estate. This will include discussions about the financial contribution we would make to off-site highways provision

The scheme includes significant investment in transport so that residents can easily reach jobs in Harlow and East Herts, including a new bridge over the River Stort, new bus routes and better access to Harlow Station. Places for People have committed to working with stakeholders to provide a northern access to Harlow station to better improve connectivity.

No, all our predictions about the impact on transport are evidence based. We have engaged in detailed discussions with Essex and Hertfordshire County Councils in respect of transport modelling for Gilston Area and the wider Harlow area. With the provision of appropriate mitigation, the transport network is expected to be able to accommodate forecast growth.

The Gilston Area development will provide sufficient local health services and facilities to meet the needs of the new resident population, whilst also benefiting the existing surrounding communities. We are aware that the NHS Trust are considering options for the relocation and/or expansion of the Princess Alexandra Hospital to meet forecast growth requirements.

Residents can travel east from Terlings Park, although it would require a minor diversion compared to today’s arrangements. Vehicles would need to turn left onto Eastwick Road (which will have significantly lower traffic flows as it will only provide access to Terlings Park and Burnt Mill Lane). Then at the new Village 1 east junction (in close proximity to Burnt Mill Lane) turn east and use the Eastern Crossing to head towards High Wych or to Temple Fields and other destinations. It represents a small change compared to the current arrangements, but we feel that the broader benefits of the changes (ie greater separation from the Eastern Stort Crossing, and an increase in the space we can use for planting) outweigh any dis-benefits.

Our current proposal maintains access for all existing residents without encouraging through traffic and allowing ‘rat running’ along Gilston Lane. The exact details will be finalised at the Village Masterplanning or detailed planning application stage, and will be subject to ongoing monitoring to make sure they are effective.

The current proposals have not changed in principle since the submission in May 2019 and are as follows:

• Vehicles will be able to travel north along Gilston Lane from Pye Corner only as far as the new sustainable transport corridor within Gilston Park Estate. Cyclists and pedestrians would be able to cross the sustainable transport corridor to continue along Gilston Lane, but vehicles coming from Pye Corner would not be able to join the sustainable transport corridor or continue north along Gilston Lane from this point. So, there would be no vehicular connection between the sustainable transport corridor and the section of Gilston Lane to the south of this (pedestrian and cycle access will be maintained). This proposal is to prevent new residents of Gilston Park Estate using Gilston Lane to gain access by car to the main highway network via Pye Corner. Residents who live on this section of Gilston Lane will still be able to gain access to their homes via Pye Corner, as at present.
• There will be a connection between the sustainable transport corridor and Gilston Lane to the north of the sustainable transport corridor at this location. People wanting to drive north along Gilston Lane would need to join it from the sustainable transport corridor, which they would need to access from either the all modes entrance to Village 1 (to the west of Pye Corner) or by using a section of the Eastern Stort Crossing route and the entrance to Village 2.
• Travelling south from properties along Gilston Lane, and from Gilston Park House itself, vehicles would need to use part of the sustainable transport corridor to exit Village 1 by the all modes access (onto the realigned Eastwick Road), or via the Village 2 access and using a section of the Eastern Stort Crossing route. The sustainable transport corridor (“STC”) also crosses Gilston Lane to the north of St Mary’s Church. Here, it is proposed that there will be no vehicle connection between the STC and the section of Gilston Lane to the south of the STC. A connection would be provided for pedestrians and cyclists. Access to St Marys Church by vehicle would be gained from the south via the STC and Gilston Lane.
• The connection between the STC and Gilston Lane to the north of the northern section of the STC will remain open to vehicles (note this section of road appears not to have a formal name but runs alongside Golden Brook). It is not expected that many vehicles from the Gilston Area development would wish to use this route. However, it will be subject to a “monitor and manage” approach whereby, if there was a material increase in traffic due to the development, consideration could be given to the closure of the route, in consultation with relevant stakeholders and residents.
• Where the internal STC crosses watercourses within the site, it is intended that all crossings will be open ‘bridge’ structures, unless culverts or in-river structures can be demonstrated to not adversely impact ecology or flood risk. Details of these works will be provided as part of the detailed planning process that is to follow the ‘outline’ planning stage.
• In summary, residents who live on the southern part of Gilston Lane will still have vehicular access as currently via Pye Corner onto Eastwick Road. Those living north of the southern section of the sustainable transport corridor in Gilston Park would be able to access the sustainable transport corridor to the south by car, with access in and out of Gilston Park Estate via either the Village 1 East or Village 2 access. As Eastwick Road is to be closed for vehicles at the east end of Pye Corner (where the Village 2 access junction will be located), Gilston Park House residents wishing to drive to Pye Corner will need to do so via the Village 1 East access. Direct connection along Gilston Lane will still be possible by active modes of travel (walking and cycling).

We consider that this maintains the dual objectives of maintaining access for everyone, safely and conveniently, without creating a through route for vehicle traffic (which may lead to rat running). These proposals will be further discussed with local residents and businesses as part of the Village 1 Masterplan and may be subject to a ‘monitor and manage’ approach (ie the stopping up only being implemented if open access creates negative impacts).

There is a lot of growth planned within the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town comprising the development in the Gilston Area and other developments around Harlow. As set out in the East Herts District Plan (October 2018), the Council will work with key stakeholders to deliver transport improvements to the crossings of the River Stort to support the significant housing and employment growth anticipated in the greater Harlow area and address the current pressures on the A414 corridor. While the overarching objective of the Gilston Park Estate proposals is to improve sustainable transport options, there will inevitably be a need for more highway infrastructure – in part to free up space for sustainable modes.

The eastern crossing is one of those pieces of infrastructure and it is required for a number of reasons. It provides the additional crossing of the River Stort to take traffic away from the central crossing and free up capacity to provide a high-quality sustainable transport network between the site and Harlow town centre. This will benefit not only new residents, but also existing communities.

At the same time, it provides a route from the site to junction 7a of the M11, the Enterprise Zone and east Harlow and provides relief to junctions along the western end of the A414 Edinburgh Way in Harlow. It will also act as a sustainable transport corridor as it will have a 5m wide walking and cycling link, and it includes enhanced connections to the canal towpath, facilitating leisure routes.

The decision of any potential re-routing of the A414 is not a matter for PfP – this will be determined by Essex County Council/Herts County Council acting as the highway authorities.

Many residents will be aware that Burnt Mill Lane was closed as a through road due to the bridge not being suitable for vehicles. There are no plans to change this arrangement and vehicular access to Harlow Town Station would remain as it is using Fifth Avenue and Station Approach. Our proposals will allow much greater capacity for bus, cycle and pedestrian travel along Fifth Avenue and to the station, and we will improve access for cyclists and pedestrians along Burnt Mill Lane – to the west of the stopping up point as well as to the east (connecting with Eastwick Road).

In the future we plan to help facilitate a northern station access which would be accessible for pedestrians and cyclists from Burnt Mill Lane.

We are engaging the bus operators and have worked up a bus business plan with a series of triggers attached that will determine the level of service that will be delivered based on the number of homes completed.

It is our intention that by the time 50 new homes have been built there will be a 15-minute frequency bus service between Village 1, Harlow Town train station and the town centre. As the number of new homes increases, the level of bus service will also increase.

We will continue working with the Local Authorities to ensure they are content with the proposed level of bus subsidy to ensure an adequate level of service and help us meet our ambitious target of 60% of travel using sustainable modes.

There is a proposed access point from Village 6 onto the A414 which has changed from a proposed roundabout to traffic signals which has been done partly to allow for greater priority to be given to buses. This junction is proposed to be located between the existing Church Lane (and proposed Village 7) junction and Eastwick Hall Lane.

This access would be provided as part of the PfP proposals depending on two factors: firstly, whether it is needed as part of the potential additional employment/gypsies and travellers site in Village 6, and if not, only in the event that the Village 7 access further west (which uses the current junction between Church Lane and the A414), has not been provided at the time Village 6 is developed.

The Village 7 access is very similar to the Village 6 one in that it would be signalised and again have bus priority. It is important to emphasise that Village 7 is being brought forward though a separate planning application made by Briggens Estate 1 Ltd as part of the Briggens Estate development.

Planning for new schools and making sure they are in the right place at the right time is an important part of PfP’s proposals. We have spent a lot of time talking with Hertfordshire County Council as the local education authority about this. The commitment we made in our planning application back in May 2019 was that we would provide enough school places on site for every child from the new communities; and that we would make these spaces available as soon as possible. This commitment has not changed.

In terms of primary education, we have agreed with Hertfordshire County Council that the first primary school places will be available early to support the first phases of development. The precise time for the opening of this school is currently being agreed.

We are still in discussion with the County Council about when the secondary school provision opens. There are a number of things to consider, for instance, secondary school children might wish to stay at existing schools if it is still possible to travel there. It is also more of a challenge to open a secondary school at an early stage when the number of pupils is small. This can limit the curriculum the school is able to offer and may not be the best option for those children or for teachers. We are talking with the County Council and the Department for Education about how we progress with this and make sure the funding is in place so that school places are delivered as soon as possible to meet the needs of residents.

We are also starting to think about more detailed plans for Village 1 which will have both secondary and primary education. Our early design work shows how the schools will be able to be delivered early and will become a central community asset as residents move in. This work is to be developed in the Village 1 Masterplan which will be prepared with the involvement of the community and other local stakeholders and submitted after the outline planning application has been determined.