Plans approved for 8,500 new homes across Harlow & Gilston Garden Town
Plans for six new villages set to deliver 8,500 new homes in East Hertfordshire have been given the green light. The UK’s leading social enterprise, Places for People has secured resolution to grant planning permission for its proposals for Gilston Park Estate, in the largest planning application ever presented to East Herts District Council.
The six new villages located to the north of Harlow on the Hertfordshire and Essex border will offer a sustainable and connected community, set in over 1,000 hectares, including a wide range of new infrastructure and amenities. Plans include two secondary schools and up to six primary schools, healthcare facilities, a leisure centre and sport facilities, a new community centre and 29,200m² of commercial and 25,100m² of retail and leisure space. Housing will be designed to suit the varying needs of the wider community including almost 2,000 affordable homes.
The site forms part of the wider Harlow and Gilston Garden Town, which has been earmarked by the government for the delivery of 23,000 new homes. Fulfilling the vision for the garden town to create a place where residents can lead healthy and active lifestyles, Gilston Park Estate will encompass large areas of green open space including two country parks, community gardens, and protection and enhancement of habitats to promote biodiversity.
Gilston Park Estate will also become an economically thriving destination, creating over 1,500 permanent jobs and creating in excess of £3.5billion in GDV. Places for People will invest almost £1billion in new infrastructure and social facilities to ensure the community thrives for generations to come.
Adrian Bohr, CEO of Places for People Developments comments: “We are delighted to reach this significant planning milestone, getting the go-ahead for our twenty-year plan to build an inclusive and attractive new village community in Gilston. Our proposals for Gilston Park Estate clearly demonstrate what sets Places for People apart. We’re not just another volume house builder, we are committed to adding lasting social value to the communities we build to make them the very best for the people who will live, work and visit them. It is a responsibility we do not take lightly.”
Following the resolution to grant planning permission from East Herts District Council, Places for People will now work in close collaboration with HGGT Partners to finalise the Section 106 legal agreement, which secures the infrastructure due to be provided. Places for People, architects JTP, and landscape architects Grant Associates, will also progress the masterplan for the first village, which will include around 1,800 homes, and the Strategic Landscape Masterplan covering over 500 hectares of landscape.