Harlow Times Spring 2024

Harlow

Inside:

Putting the heart back into Harlow with town centre regeneration schemes, new council homes, council house improvements and much, much, more...

Your money

Your priorities

Spring edition 2024

In this edition

Pages 4 and 5

Your money, your priorities

We freeze our share of your Council Tax bill and invest millions into your priorities.

News in brief

2-3

16-17

18-19

20

21-28

Pages 8 and 9

Restoring pride in Harlow

The signs are looking good as we step up our work to restore pride.

May elections, council meetings go live online, Harlow Community Lottery, Harlow Town Centre Awards 2023 and sign up for new email updates.

What’s on this spring

Things to do and see this spring in Harlow.

Bins and recycling

Your guide to making the most of your recycling.

Your Harlow Councillors

Contact details for Harlow ward and county councillors.

Housing Annual Report

Our report to council tenants and leaseholders.

Please recycle this magazine when you have finished reading it. Harlow Times is printed on 100% recycled paper, made from waste paper and old delivery boxes. This not only saves money, but is better for the environment.

Send us your views

Pages 10 and 11

Rebuilding our town Plans for major Market Square makeover unveiled as part of rebuilding our town.

Cover image: Artist impression of Harlow Arts and Cultural Quarter in Playhouse Square.

Harlow Times is published quarterly by Harlow Council to keep you informed.

This magazine is distributed by Royal Mail. In some areas where postcodes overlap the boundaries of Harlow and other councils, a small number of residents outside Harlow will also receive this magazine.

We hope our residents will appreciate that this system of delivery is one of the most efficient and that our extra readers on the borders of the town will enjoy their complimentary copies and news about their nearest important town.

Copyright for most images owned by Brian Thomas Photography (www.btphotography.co.uk) unless stated. Printed by Swan Print Ltd.

© Harlow Council 2024. You may re-use this information (excluding logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence v2.0. View this licence: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/opengovernment-licence/version/2/ or email psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk

Where we have identified any third-party copyright information, you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

Enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to Communications, Harlow Council, Civic Centre, The Water Gardens, Harlow, Essex CM20 1WG or email communications@harlow.gov.uk

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Council Tax freeze and delivering your priorities

Dear Resident,

This is always a busy part of the year and as I write this, we’ve just approved our 2024 budget. A budget which freezes our share of your Council Tax bill for the third year running, and a budget which invest tens of millions of pounds into delivering your priorities.

When I became the Leader of your council in May, I set out five clear priorities for Harlow Council that you could judge me on and on each priority, we’ve delivered.

On fixing council housing, we’ve cleared the backlog in repairs and cut repair waiting times by 80%. An inspection and survey of every council home is underway, so in future the right homes get the right maintenance at the right time and our tenants get the right support. The time it takes to relet empty homes has dropped drastically and we’ve overhauled the housing allocations system to ensure that Harlow homes are for Harlow families.

On restoring pride in Harlow, we’ve completely changed how we maintain green spaces around the town and in our housing estates and how we clean up litter and rubbish.

We’ve transformed roundabouts and we’ve replaced over 1,600 street signs which were broken, rusted, faded, or missing.

On rebuilding our town, we’re transforming the town centre with a clear plan in place for how we will put the heart back into it. The town centre’s regeneration is no longer a pipe dream, but a reality. There’ll be a new Harlow Arts and Cultural Quarter, a new bus station and the redevelopment of Terminus Street, Broad Walk and Market Square and there’s much more to come. On building new council homes for Harlow families, we’re on site with 11 council housebuilding schemes.

On securing investment into Harlow, we’ve secured government backing to rebuild our town centre, new businesses continue to come to Harlow, and we’ve secured millions of investment to upgrade our roads and cycle tracks and we’ll secure even more to create more high-skilled jobs and apprenticeships in Harlow.

On improving council services, we’ve turned to experts within local government to assess how we are doing,

and a recent independent review found that the council in just 9 months has made rapid progress to turn around its performance and leadership.

We’re on the right track, but the hard work has only just started.

Building on the success of the five priorities, we’ve agreed six missions, which will be our new priorities as part of a four-year corporate plan. These are to:

• Transform Harlow’s housing

• Renew our neighbourhoods

• Rebuild our town

• Secure investment for Harlow’s future

• Protect our communities

• Deliver high-performing council services

It has been an honour to work every day for you as the Leader of your council and I hope that you can see how we’ve delivered for you this year, but more importantly how we’re going to transform our town over the next four years.

Councillor Dan Swords Leader of Harlow Council

Going to vote in May?

Following the government’s new voter security measures, you will have to show photo ID at the polling station for the local council elections on 2 May 2024.

Acceptable ID will include a:

• passport

• photo driving licence

• national concessionary bus pass

The full list will also be included on the back of your poll card.

If you do not have any of the ID required, you can apply for a voter authority certificate.

For more information on voting in the May elections visit www.harlow.gov.uk/elections

Council meetings now broadcast live

A new webcasting service has been launched so residents can watch council meetings live online.

Full Council, Cabinet and Development Management Committee meetings can all be watched online via our webcasting service.

The meetings can also be watched back, or specific agenda items viewed after the meeting has ended.

The move is all part of the council’s priority to improve its services and make its decisionmaking as transparent and open as possible.

Watch the meetings at: https://harlow.public-i.tv/core/portal/home

New email update is launched

Our latest residents survey revealed that almost half of residents would prefer to hear from the council via email, so we have launched a new email newsletter with the latest council news.

Our newsletter goes out to residents every fortnight and features our consultations, our latest plans and other opportunities for you to have your say.

If you would like to receive regular updates from the council, you can sign up on our website: www.harlow.gov.uk/newsletter-sign-up

Harlow Community Lottery tickets now on sale!

The local lottery has been set up by Harlow Council in a bid to raise money for charities and good causes throughout Harlow.

Tickets for the new Harlow Community Lottery are now available to buy, with the first weekly draw on 9 March.

Tickets are available to buy via the Harlow Community Lottery website for £1 each. Winners could scoop up to £25,000.

Draws will take place every Saturday at 8pm.

Not-for-profit organisations such as sports clubs, community groups and PTAs, are encouraged to sign up and start benefitting from the lottery.

You can buy tickets at: www.harlowcommunitylottery.co.uk

Celebrating the very best in the heart of Harlow

A celebration of our town’s favourite businesses, people and places in Harlow’s town centre was held on Thursday 18 January 2024 with the Harlow Town Centre Awards.

These annual awards are held every year in the Civic Centre and attract hundreds of public votes.

A big thank you to everyone who attended, and a huge thank you to everyone who voted and those who sponsored the awards.

Congratulations to all the winners, runners up and all those nominated.

What our budget means for you

A Council Tax freeze for the third year running and millions invested into your priorities are among the key headlines in Harlow Council’s budget for 2024 to 2025.

Another Council Tax freeze

Where your Council Tax goes

Did you know that Harlow Council only keeps around £13 of every £100 collected in Council Tax?

How your bill is divided up:

Essex County Council £71

Harlow Council £13

Essex Police £12

Essex Fire and Rescue £4

A freeze in Harlow Council’s share of Council Tax. A typical band C household will pay just £4.93 per week so we can continue to deliver high-performing council services.

No cuts to any of your council services

No cuts or closures, but increased investment for services like bin collections, street cleaning, landscape and parks maintenance, housing repairs, supported housing, Pets’ Corner, Harlow Playhouse, Harlow Museum, the Leah Manning Centre, Town Park, paddling pools, and splash parks.

New council homes for Harlow families

Over £37 million to rebuild our town with 103 new council homes for Harlow families as part of our housebuilding programme.

More money to transform council homes

Over £60 million to transform Harlow’s housing by repairing and improving existing council homes, with over £7 million towards upgrading the external features of homes, £2 million for roof replacements and £12.6 million for fire safety works. A further £59 million will be spent to deliver and improve housing services for council tenants.

Your budget from Harlow Council will:

• Transform Harlow’s Housing

• Renew our neighbourhoods

• Rebuild our town

• Secure investment for Harlow’s future

• Protect our communities

• Deliver high-performing council services

Rebuilding our town

Over £32 million to carry out improvements and upgrades to the Playhouse, Pets’ Corner, paddling pools and splash parks, Harlow Museum and the Latton Bush Centre, with over £23 million of government funding secured to rebuild our town and put the heart back into Harlow town centre.

Renewing neighbourhoods

A new Neighbourhood Renewal Fund to deliver targeted improvement projects to renew our neighbourhoods and funding for improvements to council owned shopping hatches and neighbourhood shopping centres.

Protecting our communities

There is funding to continue keeping Harlow’s streetlights on all night, every night and to provide more CCTV around the town. Measures to protect the town’s green spaces from unauthorised traveller encampments will also be funded.

Supporting local business

To help local businesses all free car parking periods in councilowned neighbourhood shopping centres will continue.

We’re fixing council

Works completed at The Lawn

Work to transform the look of the area surrounding The Lawn tower block has been completed, with trees, shrubs and hedges all tidied up and ivy removed.

In addition to improving the overall look of the area, the works have cleared the way along pedestrian paths.

The work has made a genuine difference to the area around the block, which was the UK’s first tower block when it was built in 1951.

Beating our housing targets

In line with the council’s priority to fix council housing, the backlog in council housing repairs remains on track to be cleared by 31 March 2024.

The latest figures released in February 2024 showed that, since 1 June 2023, over 93% of the entire backlog had been cleared from a starting point of a backlog of nearly 5,500 outstanding jobs.

The changes in working practices that were introduced back in June continue to make a major impact in addressing the issue and the backlog figures continue to tumble.

Changes included making use of local subcontractors to clear outstanding repairs and have focussed on clearing the oldest jobs first and replacing the nine month standard repair time with a 60-day timeframe.

The standard repair waiting time will be cut to 30 days by 31 March 2024.

The turnaround of empty homes has also continued to improve dramatically. The council and HTS are now exceeding set targets, cutting the average turnaround to around 20 days - down from an average turnaround of 56 days - which is ensuring empty council homes are available more quickly.

These improvements come alongside the new tenancy audit programme underway to visit tenants in their homes, the full stock condition survey to improve maintenance of council homes and the new housing allocations policy to ensure local council homes are for local families.

Read more about how the council is performing at www. harlow.gov.uk/performance

Overhauling the way we allocate council housing

Following a consultation on proposals to change how we allocate council housing, the council has agreed a major overhaul of its housing allocations policy.

These changes include:

• Increasing the local connection from 5 years to 7 years.

• Removing local connection through family and working in the town.

• Strengthened priority for those who were born in Harlow and still live here.

• The removal of priority band 4 of the register to ensure the council does not give ‘false hope’ to those not in housing need.

• Raising the household earnings cap from £50,000 to a stepped approach depending on the property size.

• More effective management of refusal of properties.

• A review into nomination rights to partner organisations to ensure council homes truly go to those in need.

• Band 2 priority to be given to two council households who wish to move into a single property together.

These changes will make the process of applying for council housing easier and fairer, with the priority given to those most in housing need who were born and bred in the town.

The updated policy will come into effect on 1 April 2024 for all new applicants and those existing this will be phased from April to October 2024, and a letter detailing the changes is being sent out to everyone on the Housing Needs Register.

Tenancy audits: Help us to fix

council housing

As we have been conducting our tenancy audit of council properties, we have been experiencing a high number of issues gaining access to homes. This causes delays to any work or compliance checks that must be carried out and costs the council money.

In the year 2022 to 2023, we had over 4,800 instances of no access when attempting to carry out property checks and repairs, in some cases to perform vital safety works.

We really need your help to ensure we can deliver your priority to fix council housing.

If you have been given an appointment, please do make sure you will be at home – if you cannot be there for any reason, please let us know as soon as possible so work can be rescheduled.

We’re restoring pride

History refreshed with new signboards

New heritage signboards which help tell the story of Harlow before and after it became a new town have been installed across the town.

A total of 15 boards have been put in as part of the council’s priority to restore pride in the town by replacing old signage around the town with new.

Among the stories the signboards tell are:

• The Harlow Temple site in River Way which dates to the days of the Roman Empire

• The Stow, the new town’s first neighbourhood centre, which opened in 1952

• The Lawn, post-WW2 Britain’s first tower block

• Potter Street and its historical past in pottery production dating back to Roman and medieval times

• Old Harlow and its history going back to the 12th century

The project has been funded by the council’s estate renewal fund programme.

Residents can discover more about Harlow by visiting Harlow Museum & Walled Gardens which is free to visit and is open every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 9.30am to 3.30pm (last entry at 3pm).

What a turnaround!

Just before Christmas, Harlow Council completed works to transform the previously overgrown roundabout on Edinburgh Way near the Queensgate Retail Park.

To improve road safety and to restore pride, work took place to clear the jungle and introduce a

new low maintenance landscape scheme.

Following the works, Essex County Council have been asked to replace the broken and missing signs on the roundabout. The works are all part of improving the maintenance and upkeep of the town’s many roundabouts.

pride in Harlow

Positive signs of change in our neighbourhoods

More than 1,600 blue street signs are in the process of being replaced by Harlow Council.

The town-wide programme is set to be completed by the end of March. It follows an audit last year which identified every single street sign which is not up to date with the latest specification, or is worn, faded, broken, damaged or missing.

Street name signs and estate map boards are being replaced with new ones which are made of recycled plastic.

A further 16 heritage estate name boards, which dated back to the 60s and 70s, were specially restored earlier this year.

New landscape maintenance standards

With one third of Harlow made up of beautiful green space, it is important that the council and HTS can stay on top of looking after it. That is why new landscape maintenance standards have been rolled out across the town, following successful pilot schemes last year.

This now means that:

• Teams of three each cover defined neighbourhoods

• Grass is cut and strimmed at the same time, so it does not become overgrown around obstacles

• HTS will aim to cut the grass every 10 working days instead of every 17 working days, to ensure it is kept shorter and tidier

• Each team of three has responsibility for their defined areas, ensuring more pride is taken in their work

• Hedge and and shrub maintenance will be improved

We’re rebuilding our

Work begins on transforming Market Square

The council has received government backing to regenerate Market Square as part of the rebuild of our town and putting the heart back into Harlow town centre.

After sitting derelict for many years, the building at 21 The Rows was demolished in December 2023.

This marked an important step in the regeneration of Market Square as the building’s removal opens up the area in front of the neighbouring shops and widens the footpath.

The redevelopment of Market Square is being funded as part of the £23.7m Towns Fund, which the council secured in June 2021.

Consultation on the new Market Square plans runs until May. Residents and businesses can have their say by visiting the council’s website www. harlow.gov.uk/consultation or dropping into the Discover Harlow Hub in the Harvey Centre (next to The Works) between 11am and 2pm every Thursday.

Water feature (splash pad)

Proposed natural playground

Lawn area, informal seating and sociailising space

Proposed rain garden

Grass mound to encourage play

Timber decking area

Local business overspill enclosed by soft landscape

Existing sculpture aligned to new water feature

Timber top balancing trail crossing over the rain garden

Harlow Arts and Cultural Quarter latest

The new £20m Harlow Arts and Cultural Quarter in Playhouse and College Square, which will transform the area into a go to destination in the town centre, has moved a step closer with the submission of a planning application.

A decision on the application, which was submitted in December, is set to be made by councillors in the spring.

Thousands of residents have been involved in the design of the new scheme, both before the bid was made to the government, and since the money has been awarded.

£37 million approved to build new council homes

Harlow Council is investing over £37 million to build 103 new council homes as part of phase 1 of its housebuilding programme.

The investment will support the building of council homes across 11 schemes. Work on site for all the schemes is already underway.

The phase 1 schemes will provide 103 new homes made up of houses, apartments, and bungalows to meet the different housing needs of residents.

All homes, which will be allocated to local families on the Harlow Housing Needs Register, include several energy efficiency design features and are of high-quality design.

Councillor Michael Hardware, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Economic Development, said: “We are building new council homes for local families on brownfield sites and renewing areas in our neighbourhoods which need regeneration.

“In all areas of the town, we are on site with works underway on these 11 schemes and that work is significantly ramping up now.

“This is a major £37 million investment which demonstrates Harlow Council’s commitment to building new council homes for local families.”

We’re securing investment

Getting around Harlow

Essex County Council’s David Sprunt explains in this blog how Harlow & Gilston Garden Town’s new public travel routes will make it easier and quicker for residents and visitors to travel around the local area.

Harlow & Gilston Garden Town’s five council partners have started work on the first phase of the project’s new public travel routes.

Known as Sustainable Transport Corridors, they will provide dedicated infrastructure for rapid bus transit, cycling and walking routes.

The work has begun on the Burnt Mill roundabout to town centre section of the Sustainable Transport Corridor and that route will be one of the spokes in the wheel that will eventually link the north, south, east and west of Harlow to the town centre in the future.

We’re aiming for this to be completed before Christmas 2025.

We often get asked why we’re building new public travel routes in Harlow when infrastructure for buses, cycling and walking already exists. What you’ll see with the new and improved routes are continuous bus lanes to enable rapid bus transit and faster journeys for existing bus services plus better reliability.

The junctions in Harlow will also be upgraded through new and innovative measures to encourage more walking and cycling.

Harlow residents tell us that they want to use the infrastructure on offer to get around, but there are barriers to regular use that are off putting, a section of a cycling path might be dimly lit or you have to cross a major road and it feels dangerous.

The present infrastructure also presents real problems for getting to the town centre from the railway station.

But the Garden Town’s five council partnership want to provide infrastructure that is not only safe but easy to use.

The new public travel routes will alleviate those concerns and once the Sustainable Transport Corridor gets a reputation locally for moving people around the town quickly and cheaply, it will hopefully inspire confidence in people to give it a go on a regular basis.

Find out more about these travel routes at www.essexhighways. org/harlow-sustainabletransport-corridors

investment into Harlow

Harlow College opens Institute of Technology

Harlow College officially opened its brand-new Institute of Technology (IoT) thanks to funding which included £500,000 from Harlow Council secured through the government’s Towns Fund.

The Institute, which is part of the South East Institute of Technology, is a close partnership between highperforming further education colleges, universities and employers.

It helps to ensure that the higher-level courses delivered are based on what the economy and local communities need, ensuring learners have the best possible career prospects.

Among the state-of-the-art facilities are a Lucas Nuelle Lab, Digi-Lab, new Science Lab and an Immersive Room with VR headsets where learners can join classes remotely, allowing them to interact with trainees at the college’s partner, Stansted Airport College.

The grand opening in February was attended by key industry, community, as well as Councillor Dan Swords, Leader of the Council, who were treated to a tour of the facility, witnessing the cutting-edge premises and equipment.

New Era Energy –choosing Harlow as its home

New Era Energy is an energy company based on Riverway in the Harlow Templefields site.

The company, originally known as New Era Fuels, began as a family business in 1919 in London’s east end, distributing lubrication products to industry. It has undergone many changes since then, from oils and greases, to fuel, and now to green energy. One thing remains the same since the move out of London - the choice to have Harlow as the base of its headquarters.

New Era employs 107 people at its Harlow head office and 150 nationwide, working with companies nationally, from 10 locations across the country.

The company wants to have a local focus, helping Harlow businesses on their net zero journey and improving the air quality in Harlow for residents.

In the past two years, it has invested in purpose-built buildings on the Riverway site and is investing in its staff and employing several apprentices in different areas of the company.

For more information on business in Harlow including a local business directory visit www.harlowbusiness.org

Robert Halfon, Minister of State for Education (seated) with Councillor Dan Swords, members of the IOT Project Group, Karen Spencer, Principal of Harlow College and college students and staff.

We’re improving council The transformation of HTS continues

A new Managing Director of the council’s maintenance company, HTS, has started work with David Morrissey taking up the role permanently.

David has a strong track record of operational management, innovation, leadership and people management in both public and private sector companies with a particular focus on housing management.

Following his appointment,

David Morrissey, HTS Managing Director, said:

“I am looking forward to working together with Harlow Council and HTS colleagues to significantly enhance our environmental, repairs, and planned maintenance services.

“I believe that the future holds exciting possibilities for HTS and our continued beneficial impact on the homes and facilities provided to the local community.”

The council and HTS have been working in recent months to significantly improve performance and operations which has resulted in:

• Reducing the backlog in housing repairs by 90%, a significant reduction and ahead of the target set to clear the backlog by the end of the financial year (March 2024)

• Overhauling the landscape maintenance and street cleaning programmes

• Cutting the average turnaround on empty council homes from 56 days to 22 days currently

• Customer satisfaction improving to 98%

We are making improvements

Harlow Council has been praised in an independent report for the rapid progress it has made to improve its political and managerial leadership, its relationships, what it delivers for residents and how it operates.

The report by the Local Government Association follows a recent progress review by an independent peer review team who carried out a corporate peer challenge assessment of the council back in March 2023.

Peer review teams are made up of senior managers and councillors from other councils.

The report recognises that the council has moved a long way in short space of time:

“Nine months on from the corporate peer challenge, it is clear that there has been profound change achieved in many aspects of how the council operates and what it is delivering.”

“The Council has invested time and effort in establishing a range of building blocks that are key to the way it operates going forward.”

“What is being delivered is making a tangible difference for residents.”

council services

“The five priorities for this year are clearly driving the organisation.”

“Major progress has been made in the tackling by HTS of the backlog in housing repairs.”

Councillor Dan Swords, Leader of Harlow Council, said:

“When I was elected leader of the council in May I was determined to bring about positive change to how the council serves its residents and partners and how it operates for its staff.

“The progress that the review team has witnessed is remarkable and it is all be down to teamwork and the incredible efforts of council staff and councillors.

“I know that there is much more work to do, and the latest report gives as a clear direction on what we need to do next.”

Breaking News!

The council’s rapid turnaround in its performance has seen it shortlisted for a national “Most Improved Council” award.

The Local Government Chronicle Awards 2024, which celebrate the very best in local government, will be held in June.

Competition for the awards was huge with over 900 entries submitted for the 22 different award categories.

Working together to tackle crime

A community safety hub has been launched as part of a new crackdown on crime and antisocial behaviour (ASB) in the town.

The new hub, based in the Civic Centre, brings together the council’s Community Safety team and Essex Police, with a view to expand the hub to include other community safety partners in the future.

The public will continue to report crime and ASB in the usual way – the hub is not open to the public but will operate as a space where different partner agencies can work better together for the benefit of the town.

Councillor Dan Swords, Leader of Harlow Council, said:

“We know from the residents survey conducted over the summer that tackling crime and ASB is a big priority for residents, and this hub will bring together the right agencies in the right place to share resources to tackle the issues head on.”

Chief Inspector Paul Austin, District Commander for Harlow said:

“We welcome the launch of the community safety hub and are confident that it will support with our ongoing efforts to reduce antisocial behaviour in Harlow.”

What’s on this spring

Harlow’s oldest sports club to celebrate its 250th anniversary!

This year Harlow Cricket Club, based at Marigolds in Old Harlow, is celebrating 250 years of playing cricket with a series of special matches and events.

Matches will be played on Sundays against old cricketing foes and friends who the club have played against throughout its history. These include Bishop’s Stortford (14 July), Sawbridgeworth (9 June) and Matching Green (21 July). An unusual fixture against The Barbadian High Commission XI promises to be a fun day on 16 June.

A cricket week is being held from 20 to 28 July, with two exciting matches on 23 and 24 July where the club are hosting two all day games. The World Cricket Exchange XI versus The Club Cricket Conference XI and the following day the club welcome the world famous MCC. On the Thursday 25 July, the club have invited its near neighbours Harlow Town CC for an evening T20 challenge. The club finishes off the week with Maldon CC visiting, which was the club’s first ever opponents on record, back in September 1774!

There is also a Disabilities Cricket Day on 6 August with a county ladies cricket match on 7 August, and a celebration of youth cricket on 25 August. On 28 September, the club will host its 250th celebration gala dinner.

Visit the Harlow Cricket through 25 Decades exhibition at Harlow Museum & Walled Gardens from Saturday 27 April to Saturday 31 August.

There will be more about the club’s history in the next edition of Harlow Times.

Pets’ Corner

Harlow Town Park

www.harlow.gov.uk/pets-corner

01279 422790

Egg Easter Hunts

Sunday 31 March, Monday 1 April to

Friday 12 April

Drop-in 11am to 3.30pm

£1.50 per participant and tickets can be purchased on the day from the shop.

Meet the lambs

31 March, 2 April, 4 April, 6 April, 8 April and 10 April

11.30am to 2.30pm (30-minute intervals)

£4.50 per participant and tickets can be purchased on the day from the shop.

Keeper Talk – Owls

Monday 1 April to Thursday 11 April

1.30pm

£3.50 per participant and tickets can be purchased on the day from the shop

Easter craft session

Wednesday 3 April, Sunday 7 April and Friday 12 April

11.30am to 2.30pm

£2 per participant and tickets can be purchased on the day from the shop.

Meet the Easter Bunny

3 April, 5 April, 7 April, 9 April, 11 April and 12 April 11.30am, 12.30pm, 2pm and 3pm

Keeper Talk – Ponies

Friday 5 April 1.30pm

Keeper Talk – Bunnies

Saturday 6 April 1.30pm

Keeper Talk – Ferrets

Tuesday 9 April 1.30pm

Gibberd Gallery

Civic Centre, The Water Gardens, Harlow, CM20 1WG www.sculpturetown.uk

11am to 4pm Monday to Saturday (Closed Sundays and Bank Holidays)

New Town New Art

Saturday 6 April - Saturday 8 June

A selection of artworks recently gifted to the Harlow Art Trust by the Foundation for Essex Arts. Featuring prints, drawings and paintings from artists including Barbara Hepworth, Elizabeth Frink and Michael Craig Martin.

The collection has something for everyone from resolutely modern work to more traditional landscape scenes.

Harlow Town Park

The Bandstand, Park Lane, Harlow, CM20 2QQ www.sculpturetown.uk

Tel: 01279 446404

Fun Family Art Workshops

Tuesday 2 April and Tuesday 8 April 11am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm

‘Cycle and Create’ is a new initiative to bring art and movement to families in Harlow through an environmentally friendly series of pop up workshops. Artists will be travelling to the Town Park in specially decorated cargo bikes that contain everything needed to get people moving and creating.

Activities are suitable for children 3 plus and their parents and carers. All materials are provided. Parents/carers must stay with their children.

This pilot project is being run in partnership between Harlow Art Trust, Harlow Creates and Harlow Town Park. With thanks to Harlow & Gilston Garden Town for use of the bikes.

Stay updated on events taking place

You can find details on other events taking place in your town on the council’s website www.harlow.gov.uk and the Discover Harlow website – www.discoverharlow.co.uk

If you organise your own events, you can get them listed on these websites by submitting details at www.harlow.gov.uk/events

Walled Garden Open Day

Tuesday 28 May 10.30am to 2pm

Come along to the Walled Garden in the Town Park and take part in a range of activities, including flower arranging, tutorials on how to take cuttings of plants and planting hanging baskets which will be displayed around the park.

Men’s shed will also be present selling bird boxes. There will also be refreshments and cake.

Activities for children

Monkswick Park, Monkswick Road, Harlow, CM20 3LU

Long Ley ParkPlay

ParkPlay is a two hour session of fun and games for everyone starting at 10am every Saturday in Monkswick Park – just look for the ParkPlay flag!

To find out more and register your place: https://park-play.com/parks/long-ley/

Event and activity information is correct at time of going to press. Please always check first with the event organiser by calling their contact number or by visiting the relevant website.

The good binkeeping guide

Last year over 26,000 tonnes of household waste and recycling was collected in Harlow. However, there are a number of bins that were left unemptied as they had not been presented correctly. If we are unable to collect your waste for any reason, we will leave an advisory hanger explaining why.

To make sure your bins can always be collected and to avoid receiving a hanger, please follow our helpful guide below.

1. Make the most of your recycling

Recycling is a great way to save resources, help the environment and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. While it is important to recycle as much as you can, please make sure the right things go in your bin.

If you have extra recycling this can be put into clear or white bags alongside your full bin.

You can put all of these in your fortnightly recycling collection

2. Make sure the non-recycling bin lid closes

If you put out extra bags or overfill your bin so the lid does not close, your non-recycling may not be collected. If you don’t have a wheelie bin, we will only collect the purple sacks provided by the council – up to 3 per fortnight.

If you are recycling all you can and regularly have extra non-recycling, you can look on our website for other waste options.

3. Don’t put textiles in your bins

We do not currently collect clothes, shoes and other textiles in the fortnightly recycling or refuse services.

However, you can book a free textile bag collection as part of our bulky waste service. You can find ideas on what to do with your unwanted textiles on our website.

4. Use compostable bags in your food caddy

Line your food caddy with a compostable liner or newspaper and fill with food scraps. Please don’t use any type of plastic bag as these are not compostable and your caddy will not be emptied. Once your caddy is full, empty into your outdoor food caddy ready for your collection day.

5. Make use of our bookable collection services

We offer collections for garden waste, bulky and electrical items, batteries and textiles. Some of the services incur a charge. Check for ‘special waste collections’ on our website.

You can also check your bin collection dates online at

Harlow Council comprises of 33 elected councillors, responsible for agreeing policies about provision of services and how the council’s money is spent.

Councillor Dan Swords

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Email: dan.swords@harlow.gov.uk

Fair

Bush

Councillor Kay Morrison

Labour

199A Hookfield, CM18 6QP

Tel: 07736 333105

Email: kay.morrison@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Jodi Dunne

Labour

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07378 879710

Email: jodi.dunne@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor James Leppard

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07454 686809

Email: james.leppard@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Stacy Seales

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07541 141166

Email: stacy.seales@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Mark Wilkinson

Labour

56 Sakins Croft, CM18 7BP

Tel: 07718 696429

Email: mark.wilkinson@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Colleen Morrison

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07445 390675 (Text only)

Email: colleen.morrison@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor James Griggs

Labour

129 Broadfield, CM20 3PY

Tel: 07877 424834

Email: james.griggs@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Nancy Watson

Labour

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07908 518862

Email: nancy.watson@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Russell Perrin

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Email: russell.perrin@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Nick Churchill

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 621094

Email: nick.churchill@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Clive Souter

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07850 667900

Email: clive.souter@harlow.gov.uk

Church Langley

Councillor Simon Carter

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 429443

Little Parndon & Hare Street

Old Harlow

Toddbrook

Councillor Nicky Purse

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07838 238573

Holder

Email: nicky.purse@harlow.gov.uk

Email: simon.carter@harlow.gov.uk Great

Councillor Andrew Johnson

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 865673

Email: andrew.johnson@harlow.gov.uk Chair

Councillor Chris Vince Labour

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07729 406011

Email: chris.vince@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Tony Durcan

Labour

329 Rundells, CM18 7HN

Tel: 414357

Email: anthony.durcan@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Maggie Hulcoop Labour

330 Carters Mead, CM17 9HA

Tel: 452252

Email: maggie.hulcoop@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Michael Garnett

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 437401

Email: michael.garnett@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Joel Charles

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07752 096765

Email: joel.charles@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Sue Livings

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 422339

Email: sue.livings@harlow.gov.uk Vice Chair

Cabinet Members

Councillor Dan Swords - Leader of Harlow Council

Councillor Ash Malik

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07761 780856

Email: ash.malik@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Tony Edwards

Labour

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07544 374168

Email: tony.edwards@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Daniella Pritchard

Labour

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07710 529374

Email: daniella.pritchard@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor David Carter - Deputy leader and cabinet portfolio holder for housing

Councillor Michael Hardware - Cabinet portfolio holder for economic development

Councillor James Leppard - Cabinet portfolio holder for finance and governance

Councillor Nicky Purse - Cabinet portfolio holder for sustainability and environment

Councillor John Steer - Cabinet portfolio holder for community

Harlow

www.harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Eddie Johnson

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 312195

Email: eddie.johnson@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Stephen LeMay

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07840 852349

Email: stephen.lemay@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor David Carter

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 420340

Email: david.carter@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Matthew Saggers

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07305 777819

Email: matthew.saggers@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Lanie Shears

Labour

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07906 870935

Email: lanie.shears@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Aiden O’Dell

Labour

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07506 699240

Email: aiden.odell@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Alastair Gunn

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07850 261771

Email: alastair.gunn@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor Michael Hardware

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 07775 925274

Email: michael.hardware@harlow.gov.uk

Councillor John Steer

Conservative

c/o Harlow Council, Civic Centre, CM20 1WG

Tel: 422339 / 07593 793444

Email: john.steer@harlow.gov.uk

Essex County Councillors

County councillors can help with services like libraries, transport, roads and highways, social care for adults and children, education and schools.

Harlow North

Councillor Michael Garnett cllr.mike.garnett@essex.gov.uk

Harlow West

Councillor Michael Hardware cllr.michael.hardware@essex.gov.uk

Harlow West

Councillor Clive Souter cllr.clive.souter@essex.gov.uk

Harlow South East

Councillor Eddie Johnson cllr.eddie.johnson@essex.gov.uk

Harlow Common

Netteswell

Sumners & Kingsmoor

Housing Annual Report

to Tenants and Leaseholders 2022/23

Welcome to your fourteenth Housing Annual Report from Harlow Council for the year 2022 to 2023

Whilst 2022 to 2023 was a year of great challenge for the service, as well as the impact the cost-of-living crisis has had on many of us, along with the increase in fuel and energy prices, we continued to support residents, with councillors and council officers working together.

Despite these challenges, I am optimistic for the future as we continue to secure government funding to support regeneration, guide development and growth to secure jobs, increase new council housing, along with further investment through our Corporate Strategy.

The council continues to work closely with our tenant and leaseholder representatives to help shape the way services are delivered, by monitoring and scrutinising how we are performing as a landlord.

The council continues to take fire safety, compliance, and energy efficiency seriously as we invest more resources into improving the energy efficiency of your homes.

The council is looking to move forward with the introduction of building regulation inspections, new tenant and leaseholder satisfaction measures, and a review of the Housing Regulators current consumer standards with an emphasis on empowering residents and working closely with the Regulator and the Housing Ombudsman.

The Housing Revenue Account Business Plan continues to outline our priorities within the resources available to

There continues to be a lot to be proud of, through our work during the pandemic, improving building and fire safety and our plans to deliver much-needed new council homes and create thriving estate communities, which is the foundation

In 2022/23, the council:

• Worked to reduce empty property turnaround times.

• Assisted tenants with financial difficulties through referral to available support services and agencies.

• Celebrated the partnership with Essex County Council and Agincare, providing a positive environment for tenants maintaining their independence.

• The Careline scheme continued to provide security to vulnerable residents and achieved national accreditation.

• Income recovery achieved a strong year end position by exceeding in the top quartile for performance.

The priorities for housing and what is important locally are:

• Making more council housing available.

• Tackling the growing need for supported housing.

• Improving choices for those in housing need.

• Improving housing standards, resident’s health and wellbeing with energy efficiency, modern home facilities, tackling local priorities and statutory requirements.

• Continue to use the Engagement and Involvement service to promote awareness and provide opportunities to empower residents.

How did we do in 2022/23?

The council continued to work with tenant and leaseholder representatives on crucial housing projects, gathering their feedback when making important decisions, and monitoring how Harlow Council is performing as a landlord.

We continue to work towards enhancing and modernising our approach to engagement through Housing’s digital portal which provides tenants and leaseholders with instant access and flexibility to manage their accounts and 24/7 access to key digital services, including rent balances and payments.

We continue to strive to improve tenant and leaseholder satisfaction during a year of great challenge for the service.

We continue to be committed to engage with our residents, by empowering their voices to help improve our communities and services through a number of mechanisms including social media platforms and Tenancy and Property Panels.

What is a Local Offer?

The Local Offers initiative was introduced as part of the Regulator of Social Housing Standards. This helps housing providers tailor their services to meet local priorities and needs.

Level of complaints for 2022/23

In its role as a housing provider with over 9,000 properties, each year the council undertakes over 600,000 housing transactions.

Housing complaints

HTS Housing complaints

Local offers for involvement

• We are keen to involve residents in shaping and improving our services. We are grateful to our tenant and leaseholder representatives who have contributed to our service so far, but we want to continue to put residents at the heart of what we do in line with our tenant and leaseholder engagement strategy.

• We are keen to continue to consult and engage during these challenging times, enabling residents to examine the performance of the Housing Service, which we hope will increase involvement in decision making and improve communications through a variety of different channels.

• Continue to provide easy-to-understand information for tenants and leaseholders, promoting awareness of the Housing Service.

• Continue to increase the number of involved residents, especially people from hard-to-reach groups, with the aim of establishing a successful and active tenant and leaseholder engagement model.

• Continue to nominate tenant and leaseholders from the Tenancy and Property panels on to the Housing Standards Board, which is the governing body for engagement linked to the council’s cabinet structure.

• Continue to run training programmes for interested tenants and leaseholders on current and future challenges faced by the council.

Our plans for the future

• Further strengthening of tenant and leaseholder engagement and awareness through the tenant and leaseholder engagement strategy. Use social media to build stronger and more effective means of communication.

• Continue to publish performance information showing how we get more people involved and promote awareness of the Housing Service.

• Continue to implement initiatives to help promote council engagement with tenants and leaseholders.

• Conduct a landlord survey in accordance with new requirements set by national government, in line with the new tenant satisfaction measures relating to satisfaction and performance.

Tenancy

Local offers for involvement

• Provide tenants with options through the Choice-Based Lettings scheme.

• Make best use of available housing through our allocations policy. Operate a clear housing application process including decisions and appeals.

• Offer financial incentives and other support to tenants wishing to move to a smaller home.

• Visit all new tenants within 21 days of the start of their tenancy.

• Assess the type of support needed by new tenants and provide relevant advice and information.

• Work within the regulatory framework when setting rents.

• Write to all tenants and leaseholders before increases in rents and/or service charges.

• Assess all new supported housing tenants within 24 hours of an application.

• Offer and issue the most secure form of tenancy compatible with housing and the sustainability of the community.

• Meet all statutory requirements within the tenancy agreement, ensuring that antisocial behaviour and conditions of tenancy are managed and investigated efficiently and effectively.

• To treat everyone equally so that the rights of secure and introductory tenants are made as similar as possible.

• Publish the rents of properties at a point of advert so that any prospective tenants can budget responsibly.

• Provide support to vulnerable tenants.

• Make sure the council has all the information about rent, service charges and any benefits residents may be entitled to when signing their tenancy agreement.

• Provide debt advice and make sure any action the council takes is fair and reasonable. Where there is persistent nonpayment the council will take enforcement action through the courts, in line with the council’s ‘can’t pay won’t pay’ policy.

Our plans for the future

• Conduct tenancy audits of our properties to ensure that they are occupied and maintained in line with tenancy conditions, and to collect customer insight information to assist in providing support and improving future housing services.

• Continue to let our homes in a fair, open and efficient manner.

• Maintain good performance in income recovery in line with the council’s ‘can’t pay won’t pay’ ethos, by providing support to those tenants suffering general financial difficulty. Take robust proportionate action to deal with tenants that have the means to pay rent but choose not to.

• We will continue to provide help and support to tenants experiencing financial difficulties in dealing with costof-living increases.

• We will continue to implement improvements in customer access via the digital tenancy service, allowing tenants to access their rent account details and report repairs.

• We will continue to implement the Rough Sleeper Initiative, through a raft of interventions and partnership working.

The percentage of rent collected for 2022/23 was 98.21%,

How did we do in 2022/23?

Between April 2022 and March 2023 the council housed a total of 515 households compared to 696 in 2021/22.

314 applicants were home seekers (415 in 2021/22), 147 were transfers (previously 191) and 54 were homeless (down from 90).

355 of these were placed in general needs properties (down from 429), 67 in supported housing (down from 80) and 93 in housing association properties down from187).

Tenancy enforcement

During the year the council continued to work with and provide support to those tenants suffering financial difficulty affecting payment of rent, while taking appropriate action to deal with those tenants who persistently failed to maintain payments.

124 possession orders for non-payment of rent were issued, and 13 tenants were evicted for non-payment of rent.

Leaseholder

Local offers for involvement

• Focused on controlling costs to leaseholders, while achieving and maintaining high standards of service.

• To ensure that the major works process meets the needs of leaseholders and complies with all legislation.

• Improve the standard of information supplied to leaseholders about major works and communal repairs.

• Seek to improve the council’s engagement with leaseholders through the Standards Panel, Forums or by other means of communication that suit our leaseholders.

• To deal with leaseholder enquiries, including acting on any concerns.

• Carry out scrutiny of services provided by the council, and its subsidiary organisations, that impact our leaseholders.

How did we do in 2022/23?

66 complaints were received. 2 of these complaints were upheld and 9 were not. 11

leaseholders took advantage of the council’s prompt payment discount (compared to 59 in 2021/22).

72.8%

of leaseholders paid by direct debit (compared to 75.65% in 2021/22).

26

compliments were received.

3,371

formal notices for major works were served.

274

A survey was carried out with 250 council leaseholders in June 2023.

82% 84% 96%

of respondents found the Home Ownership Team to be helpful.

were satisfied with the outcome of their enquiry

were satisfied with the service they received from the Home Ownership section.

leaseholders applied for a loan from Harlow Council since the introduction of improved payment options (248 in 2021/22).

Our plans for the future

• To continue to improve value for money by annually reviewing the management fee, achieving savings where possible.

• To encourage more leaseholders to pay by direct debit and increase the 72.8% that currently pay by this method.

• To scrutinise the services provided by HTS and continue to review customer satisfaction on repairs and communal cleaning.

• To review all leaseholder information to ensure any changes in legislation are included.

3

• To improve access to more information on the council’s website and create the ability for more lease matters to be managed online.

• To assess the feasibility of HTS providing gas servicing, other safety checks and general maintenance for leaseholders, through the Leasehold Standards Panel.

The total amount of annual service charge collected for 2022/23 98.49% compared to 98.63% in 2021/22.

Property

Local offers for involvement

• Start a rolling programme of stock condition surveys to ensure all stock remains compliant and decent.

• Continued commitment through the HRA Business Plan process to deliver a comprehensive programme of works to support the principles within the Asset Management Strategy and delivery of the council’s Housing Investment Programme.

• Continue to improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of council homes by building on the council’s climate change declaration, delivering innovation through our capital housing and maintenance programmes. Enhancing the efficiency of stock and maximising opportunities to support the use of more renewable energy sources.

• Continue to provide a comprehensive and efficient repairs service by working closely with residents, that delivers high levels of customer satisfaction.

• Continue to reduce timescales for repairs and offer a flexible appointment system.

• Meet statutory and regulatory requirements for all compliance activities such as gas, water and electricity.

• Continue to develop and improve environmental services, including mobile cleaning and caretaking.

• Building safety – ensure all stock remains safe, decent, and compliant. All changes in regulations for building safety/ fire safety are acted upon.

The amount of time taken to turn around void properties is 23 days, compared to 38 days in 2021/22

Our plans for the future

• Continue to develop and deliver a sustainable council house building programme.

• Deliver a comprehensive Housing Investment Programme of works through continued investment in the Modern Homes programme, which improves the quality of homes and ensures council stock complies with government Decent Homes Standards.

• On-going investment and commitment to annual programme of external works, delivering a comprehensive range of improvement works to properties across Harlow.

• Continue to tackle fuel poverty with an on-going commitment to the energy efficiency programme. Improving the thermal insulation of properties, installation of heat meters and refurbishment of council owned communal and district heating systems. Explore funding opportunities to undertake retrofit works to existing stock.

• Refurbish and redevelop garage sites to improve parking and ease congestion within estates. Redevelopment of low demand sites to create opportunities for additional off-street parking.

• Continue to deliver extensive fire safety works to ensure properties remain safe.

• Continue to work with and support independent living needs tenants, providing a range of housing options supported by installation of aids and adaptations.

• Continue to work towards reducing the turnaround time for responsive repairs.

• Continue to improve turnaround times of void properties.

Council home improvements

2021/22

2022/23

How did we do in 2022/23?

The responses to this year’s satisfaction survey told us: 97%

with repairs.

with

Satisfaction is higher than 2021/22.

Finance and Value for money

HRA year-end figures

Local offers for finance

• Continue to improve services and ensure value for money by learning from other housing providers and developing ways of comparing performance.

• Carry out quarterly progress reviews on the council’s performance.

• Continue to provide an annual report to tenants and leaseholders.

• Continue to provide information for tenants and leaseholders in Harlow Times magazine.

Our plans for the future

• Continue to monitor the quarterly performance and financial housing reports at the Housing Standards Board with tenant and leaseholder representatives.

• To continue monitoring the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan to ensure it is sustainable and fit for purpose.

Give us your feedback...

Your feedback is always welcome. Please complete the form below and return it to Zulfi Kiani-Mackintosh, Community Engagement Co-ordinator, Harlow Council, Civic Centre, The Water Gardens, Harlow, Essex CM20 1WG.

Alternatively, you can call Zulfi on 01279 446330 or fill in an online feedback form at: www.harlow.gov.uk/housing-and-garages/tenant-and-leaseholder-engagement/annual-reporttenants-and-leaseholders. This document is also available in large print.

Did you find the information in this annual report useful?  Yes  No

Do you like the way it is presented?

What would you like to see next year?

 Yes  No

 More information about how the Housing Service is performing

 More comments from tenants and leaseholders

 Comparisons with other councils/housing associations

 Different layout

What did you find useful?

What would you like to see next year?

To vote, your name must be on the electoral register. The last day to register is Tuesday 16 April 2024. It is quicker and easier to register online at www.gov.uk/registertovote

If you are registered you will receive your poll card, which will tell you how and where you can vote. The poll card is for information only and you do not need it to be able to vote.

With a postal vote, we will send you the ballot papers to complete and send back to us in the post.

The deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5pm Wednesday 17 April 2024. Ballot papers will be sent out on Thursday 18 April 2024.

7am

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The deadline to apply is 5pm Wednesday 24 April 2024. If you can’t or don’t want to go to the polling station we encourage you to apply early for a postal or proxy vote.

With a proxy vote, you can choose someone to go to your polling station to vote on your behalf.

The deadline to apply for a proxy vote is 5pm Wednesday 24 April 2024.