Harlow Stories Magazine - Attraction

NEW BEGINNINGS – SEPTEMBER 2019

o8 ATTRACTION

“A grocer is attracted to his business by a magnetic force as great as the repulsion which renders it odious to artists”

Stories

Honore de Balzac IN ASSOCIATION WITH DISCOVER HARLOW REAL STORIES ABOUT REAL PEOPLE

No ads.

No clutter.

Harlow Stories Magazine is created by Magnificent Stuff www.magnificentstuff.net

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Issue o8

“A grocer is attracted to his business by a magnetic force as great as the repulsion which renders it odious to artists”

Hello and welcome We’re especially excited about this issue of Stories magazine and this excitement has helped drive our ‘red-thread’ theme of ATTRACTION for the issue. We think it’s important to have an underlying theme each publication to help drive relevant content and keep our readers engaged. This issue we’re looking into what helps drive the attraction and how that by focusing on positivity and attractive outcomes we can lead a more positive and attractive life.

Bizarrely the last issue of Stories magazine was themed CHANGE and what a lot of changes we’ve seen since then! Not only has Harlow continued to thrive, change and grow, Magnificent Stuff has undergone some fundamental organisational changes and so has Stories Magazine. We are now proudly producing the title in association with Discover Harlow, with a refined purpose, supporting the work and ambitions of the Discover Harlow team and serving as a collaborative newsletter sharing the great stories coming out of Harlow.

I felt incredibly fortunate to have been involved in the Discover Harlow journey from the beginning, as part of the focus groups held to understand and immerse the brand team appointed to support the Discover Harlow initiative. As a Place Board member and Ambassador, I continue to feel incredibly passionate about the work and effort going on to drive enterprise and continually improve the perception of Harlow and am delighted to be able to support this by donating both time and resource to the initiatives. We couldn’t do this without our fabulous creative partners at MW Studios and Lyn Reed, from Best Mailing Services in North Weald, who looks after the distribution of the printed magazine.

As always we love to receive feedback from readers and any ideas and suggestions to help us spread the Stories messages are gratefully received!

Honore de Balzac

Produced with thanks to: Magnificent Stuff Content curation www.magnificentstuff.net MW Studio Design & Layout www.mwstudio.uk BMS Mailing & Fulfilment www.bestmailing.co.uk

THIS ISSUE OF STORIES MAGAZINE HAS KINDLY BEEN SUPPORTED BY

We hope you enjoy Emma Knewstub Director and Founder

CREATED BY

www.magnificentstuff.net

Story telling marketers

07834760627

@harlowstories

@harlowstories

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Dear Reader Welcome to our new edition of Stories John Keddie Chair of Harlow Place Board

Some of you may have seen previous editions of Stories when it was produced by Harlow & District Chamber of Commerce. With assistance from our Ambassadors Emma Knewstub of Magnificent Stuff and Mark Welby from MW Studio, and sponsorship from Harlow Council for this first edition, we are pleased to continue Stories as an additional channel to keep you informed of our progress with Discover Harlow. Thank you for your generous and invaluable support.

The first year of Discover Harlow was all about setting up the Harlow Ambassadors programme.

Now that we have such an influential, engaged group we can look at what we can do together to promote the town. Collaboration is the key; connections made at Ambassador events make a better environment for everyone.

Over the year we have heard from businesses such as ((BOUNCE)) who attribute business success to their location in Harlow. Raytheon was inspired by a connection made at an Ambassador meeting and has launched an apprenticeship scheme aimed at recruiting more young people from Harlow. And the cleaning and maintenance of a number of Harlow’s wonderful collection of outdoor sculptures has received a boost following a presentation by Harlow Art Trust.

In the Harlow Ambassadors’ programme, we have a ready-made group who can open doors and achieve great things together quickly. If you see an opportunity for a project however big or small that will enhance Harlow and help project that important positive external profile, we want to know about it, as Discover Harlow can help facilitate.

We were the only English location shortlisted, and together with Scotland one of only two British finalists. We were also the only town, everyone else being a city or a nation.

We didn’t win, Eindhoven did, but when you consider the size of our town and marketing programme compared to the other finalists who have invested millions of pounds, I think you can all be proud of Discover Harlow.

I hope you enjoy reading Stories and share the good news and stories with your own contacts and networks to spread the word that Harlow is a great place in which to live, work and do business.

If you or your organisation would like to sponsor a future edition of Stories, please email discoverharlow@harlow.gov.uk

We have made strong progress in our first year:

Best wishes

• 6 events have been held with around 80 Harlow Ambassadors attending each event.

John Keddie

• We have around 30 organisations using the Discover Harlow visual brand.

• Partnerships are forming which have contributed to business growth and customer experience.

• We have organisations using the marketing collateral at their own trade fairs.

• And we have interest from both residents and young people to initiate their own Harlow Ambassador projects.

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At the end of last year, this was all recognised by the forum for Place Brand Professionals, City Nation Place, when they shortlisted Discover Harlow for their prestigious Place Brand of the Year award, sponsored by the New York Times.

Pretty amazing stuff, but especially when you consider the shortlist which included Barcelona, California, Estonia, Eindhoven and Scotland.

Chair of Harlow Place Board

Survey results Sectors When asked which sector you represent as an Ambassador, people said:

15%

Ambassador survey 2019 results:

41%

PRIVATE

36%

PUBLIC & VOLUNTARY OTHER

Successful future

93%

Agreed with the statement:

“ I believe Harlow has a successful future and I am proud to be part of it”.

In May this year, almost one year after the launch of Discover Harlow, we sent out a brief survey asking for your feedback on our

Meetings

progress. Thank you to everyone who replied. The panel to the right shows a summary of what you told us.

Your suggestions to help develop the Harlow Ambassador programme included: • Invite Princess Alexandra Hospital to tell us about the new hospital.

• Shorten the presentations to allow more speakers and more information to be presented.

• Include speakers with external perspectives of Harlow.

• Include some community and voluntary speakers. Education and digital innovation would also be interesting.

In the open comments section of the survey, you said you want more information about what Ambassadors can do to promote the town.

As a result, we’ve introduced a monthly Ambassador’s newsletter alongside Stories Magazine blog, which is distributed by email and social media and available on the website. Its aim is to give you information and good news about the town that you can share with your contacts. Any Ambassador can write a blog or story for us to publish to promote

an event or a project, or just tell people about the great things you are doing.

Please email DiscoverHarlow@harlow.gov.uk if you would like to submit something for consideration.

MORNING

LUNCHTIME

AFTER WORK

EVENING

You told us your preference for meeting times was the morning, followed by lunchtime, after work and then evening. So while the majority of our

What it means to be an Ambassador Put simply, we have two asks of Ambassadors: 1. To promote the positive image of Harlow through your networks and contacts and, 2. To put your location, Harlow, at the heart of your organisations thinking.

Anyone who is positive about Harlow can be an Ambassador, and you are free to invite any interested colleagues or contacts to join us. With their permission, simply email their contact details to discoverharlow@harlow.gov.uk and we will get in touch with them.

meetings will remain in the morning we will hold them at other times throughout the year.

Ambassador benefits

73% Said their organisation had benefitted from being a Harlow Ambassador.

Recommendation

91% Said they would recommend being an Ambassador.

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H AR LOW: LI VI N G U P TO LO F T Y IDEALS

By Emma Vandore

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IKE MANY LONDONERS, Kimberlee Perry began eying properties outside the M25 when she was expecting her first child. She and her husband chose Harlow, the new town in western Essex, because of the transport links to London, and its urban-rural feel.

groups and free activities for kids – and it’s very friendly. That’s true in business as well: local businesses, we help each other out, tag each other on social media. I don’t think I would have had anywhere near as much success if I’d started somewhere else.”

As it turned out, the London link wasn’t that important as Kimberlee didn’t return to her sales job after her maternity leave ended; and five years on, Kimberlee is fully invested in Harlow. She founded the global fitness franchise company Bounce – styled “((BOUNCE))” – when her son was a few weeks old, and has since established its 8,000 square foot headquarters – complete with a 100-trampoline studio – in the town.

Over 35,000 people now attend Bounce classes every month in the UK, New Zealand and Kimberlee’s native Australia – and soon the U.S, too. Many of them are mums who bring their children to class. This childfriendly attitude is part of ((BOUNCE))’s DNA, and, according to Kimberlee, something she inherited from Harlow.

“Harlow has a lot to offer,” she said. “It’s a great option for families, with lots of mummy

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Sir Frederick Gibberd would be pleased to know that the features of the town he masterplanned are still attracting and inspiring talent like Kimberlee. Born in 1947 out of the idealism of the post-war Labour Government, Harlow was one of eight new towns designed to provide decent housing for survivors of London’s Blitz. Despite the very real austerity of the time, the New

Town programme was underpinned by a belief in the power of planning to address wider social issues such as public health and social justice.

Reflecting the pioneering spirit of the early days, Harlow quickly chalked up a series of firsts: the first high-rise residential tower block, the first pedestrian shopping precinct, the first health centre. Mag Barrett, a journalist who moved to Harlow in the 1960s, covered many of the openings for local papers including the Harlow Citizen, Harlow News and Harlow Star – all now defunct. “Mary Peters, an Olympic runner, came for the opening of the first purposebuilt sports centre in the country,” she says.

“And the first post-war Odeon opened here, with a big fanfare.”

In the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, the young and ambitious were drawn to the town, with a feeling that things could be done in Harlow that weren’t possible elsewhere. So many families were started here – at one point 20 per cent of its population was under 5 – that Harlow earnt the moniker “pram town”.

From a peak in 1974, however, its population began falling. A lack of high-quality jobs and higher education offerings meant the town

began to lose its youngest and most affluent, and with them went a number of large employers.

After the Development Corporation was wound up in 1980, the town centre was sold off to private owners. In common with other new towns, Harlow struggled with the fact that because everything had been built at the same time, it all needed renovating at the same time. But because the assets were sold off, the town council had few income streams to pay for maintenance.

A period of economic and social decline set in, reflected in the very fabric of the town.

Potholes appeared in the extensive cycleway system that was part of Gibberd’s original masterplan – and were not filled in. Several of Gibberd’s landmark buildings, including the original town hall, were demolished and replaced by less imposing structures.

Then, in the tense aftermath of the 2016 referendum, a Polish man called Arkadiusz Jozwik was killed in a late-night altercation.

The incident was labelled initially as a potential hate crime, although a court would later find this not to be true. The selfexamination that followed would prove a turning point. Harlow came together, first to mourn the death of Jozwik, then – in a series of celebrations to mark its 70th birthday – to show to itself and the world that it’s a much nicer than even many of its residents had come to believe.

The Discover Harlow project was launched by the council in 2018 to bring together people and businesses as Ambassadors for the town. At an economic development conference last year, some professionals expressed surprise after discovering some of Harlow’s gems – from the beautiful Town Park designed by landscape architect Dame Sylvia Crowe, to the town’s many sculptures: works by Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth are on permanent public display around the town. Discover Harlow wants newcomers and existing residents alike to know and appreciate these assets.

College, which has enlarged its offering to fill the skills needs of local employers with Stansted Airport College and the Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Centre, as well as accreditation from Apple as a Distinguished School.

“In the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, the young and ambitious were drawn to the town, with a feeling that things could be done in Harlow that weren’t possible elsewhere.”

Jobs are growing again – from 42,000 in 2009 to 48,000 in 2017, according to Office of National Statistics data – and are likely to increase further with the development of three science parks. On the site where fibre optics was invented – a discovery that earnt Sir Charles Kao the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2009 – is a new 15-acre campus called Kao Park is being built. Phase One is completed, housing a brand-new data centre and the offices of defence contractor Raytheon, Arrow Electronics and Pearson Education. Nearby, also enjoying the planning and business rate advantages of Harlow Enterprise Zone, is the council-run Harlow Science Park. When completed, it will include a 15,000-square foot ARU Innovation Centre built in collaboration with Anglia Ruskin University.

Also in the works is the £400 million move of Public Health England to the former site of GSK, a major pharmaceutical company who left town in 2010. PHE will create a centre for public health research, health improvement and protection employing 3,250 people, many of whom it says will be recruited locally.

New homes are planned in and around Harlow – 23,000 of them – encouraged by the rationale that the reasons Harlow was chosen as the location for a new town in the first place make it an attractive place to live and work. With good road and rail links to Cambridge and London - only 30 minutes away by train – Harlow is also near Stansted airport.

It is hoped that the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town, delivered by Places for People, will fix some of the failures of the New Town programme, notably creating income streams to pay for future maintenance and ensuring stewardship remains in the community. It will also address the historic lack of diversified tenure, which made it hard for Harlow to attract people in higher income brackets.

“It’s about supporting the growth of Harlow,” said Mary Parsons, Group Director for Placemaking and Regeneration at Places for People. “Harlow has a lot of great things about to happen. I’d like to hear more people saying they feel proud to come from Harlow.”

This story was previously published on www.citymetrics.com

It is also working alongside other organisations to improve the town. Although the council doesn’t own most of the property in the town centre, it is trying to galvanise business owners into starting a Business Improvement District, where they collectively pay for upgrades to common spaces. And it funded a facelift to Market Square, which it does own.

One of the reasons Harlow began losing its youth was a poor higher education offering. That is being addressed by Harlow

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POWER OF

VISUAL ATTRA CTIO N For most users “looking good” establishes a relationship between aesthetics and ease of use, as well as the quality of the content of a website. An appealing and attractive design helps to win and hold the user’s attention. Mark Welby, MW Studio, explores the power of visual attraction.

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ISUAL ATTRACTION IS SOMETHING that goes beyond the concepts of looking pleasant and appealing.

The visual appearance has a direct impact on the human brain, which makes an individual trust or like any website. Visual charm is what we see upon first glance.

A breathtaking amalgamation of shapes, colours, fonts, images and white space which is visibly striking and holds the eye, hence imprinting itself on the viewer’s memory, and the visual poise of the design.

The visual aesthetics appeal to people, and that eventually contributes directly to the website traffic and frequent visitation by potential prospects. An appealing and attractive design holds the user’s attention when an emotional connection is established through the effective use of visuals and comprehensive resources, userperceived usability increases.

90% of data that is transmitted to the brain is in the form of visuals, and visuals are managed up to 60,000 times quicker in the brain in comparison to text

The ultimate purpose of the visual process is to arrive at an appropriate motor, and/or cognitive response.

Essentially, it is quite a big deal.

Masaaki Kurosu – renowned professor and a professional in the fields of UI*, UX**, human-computer interface – and Kaori Kashimura – UX researcher – ran a controlled experiment to examine the influences that set the user’s perceived usability. A group were requested to create the screen design for an ATM terminal using a set of graphics and users were then asked to assess the various screens for functionality and then aesthetics. Results showed that usability was dramatically affected by the visual desirability with users being drawn to the visual styling of the interface, even when they were assessing the overall functionality of the new screen design.

Extensive research and data over the years shows us how visual-oriented we are as humans. For example, “90% of data that is transmitted to the brain is in the form of visuals, and visuals are managed up to 60,000 times quicker in the brain in comparison to text.” Or this: “65% of people learn better through visuals, and one of the best approaches to effective understanding is by using visual content.”

These figures help simplify why visually memorable marketing and advertising is so effective, and visual-centric content such as infographics are so common currently.

Vision is one of our primary senses by which we intake info and understand the world.

Seeing is the process of deriving meaning from what is seen. It is a complex, learned and developed set of functions that involves a multitude of skills. Research estimates that eighty to 85% of our perception, learning, cognition, and activities are mediated through vision.

Effective website design needs to be catered to with visual awareness in mind.

Not only does it affect your bounce rate, regular session duration, and conversion proportions, but it deeply influences your brand impartiality as well. In fact, “46.1% of people say that a website’s design is their prime standard for perceiving the dependability of a company.” Getting it right from a visual stance is crucial, so a considerable amount of effort needs to go into visual perception and the psychology behind it, in short, making a website look good.”

The decent visual design has vast influence.

It gives the user a sense of trust and familiarity that is required to create worth

and importance. If users do not trust your website, they will not bother exploring your online business proposition and there is a significant chance that they might not want to use your offered products and services.

It is commonly said that do not judge a book by its cover, but that is what happens quite frequently in this case of websites and their visual attraction. People tend to make their split-second decisions regarding whether they want to use your website further or not; the first impression directly plays a huge role in this quick decision.

Attractive and appealing web design is a concept that has become indispensable in the last decade or so.

The role of visual appeal:

Visual appeal has many benefits that can potentially be of huge advantage to any business website, ensuring more website visitation because visual attraction has always been relevant in marketing.

• Attract attention • Create a first impression • Build relationships • Evoke emotion • Keep visitors on the webpage for a longer duration There is an old adage that goes ‘a picture is worth more than a thousand words.’

When you think about it, this saying is perhaps more factual today than it has ever been; attention spans appear to be getting smaller, and the quantity of time that everyone has to spend on anything nowadays is getting lesser day by day, including browsing through your website.

If you have visuals that can do as good a job as several paragraphs of text can do, then you can secure more business and keep your customers happy and satisfied. www.mwstudio.uk

user interface (UI) **user Experience (UX)

*

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LAWS OF ATTRA CTION IN BUS IN ES S The law of attraction is the belief that positive thoughts attract positive outcomes, and that negative thoughts attract negative outcomes. There is no reason for us to believe that this ‘law’ does not apply to business. Of course, it does!

By Boo Hartgen and Sid KC Magnificent Stuff

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M

ANY PEOPLE DON’T BELIEVE THIS EXISTS, however, there are lessons to be learnt by businesses from its core message. As a marketing agency, we often see businesses attracting the wrong things due to too much negative thinking. Companies are at risk of failing because their managers and owners have not incorporated the Law of Attraction in their everyday thoughts and actions.

Some of the biggest successes in business, sport and entertainment are due to people “dreaming big”. Their visualisation of where they want to be is very clear, and somewhat border on unrealistic. However, they are bypassing the stage of thinking “we will never get there” and “that is completely out of our reach”.

Whether you believe in the Law of Attraction or not, being open about your goals and dreams is a win-win situation. Take on board our 3 tips and turn them into habits. It’s incredible what you can achieve by having a positive, willing and excited outlook.

The laws of attraction are powerful and invoking forces that have helped many great people. Many of which you will upmost certainly know and others you up most certainly won’t. Feast your eyes on this group of immensely famous and successful people who were considered almost Kings and Queens of the world and who it has been said have attributed their achievements to the law of attraction:

“You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them” MICHAEL JORDAN

We have compiled a list of our 3 top tips for using the Law of Attraction in business:

1. Know what you want

You need to be sure of what you want to achieve as a company in order to create a strategy that will help you get there. Do you want to grow your business turnover? Do you want to hire 3 more people before year-end? Do you want to branch out geographically? With these objectives in mind, you will be able to set your SMART goals so you and your team know exactly how to achieve them.

2. Visualise success

No company is created with failure in mind. You need to visualise where your ‘ideal’ would be. Visualisation allows you to envision how you will successfully navigate through business opportunities and challenges. Try to visualise in the evenings when you are most relaxed.

3. Be intentional with communication

My grandmother always said that there is no such word as ‘can’t’. If the opportunity is there, then you can however difficult it may initially seem. Be mindful of how you are expressing yourself in the business environment, using terms such as ‘I am’ and ‘I can’ already puts you on the road to success. ‘I will’ shows that you haven’t started yet. Mohammed Ali once said ‘I am the greatest’, I think you will agree that ‘I will be the greatest’ doesn’t pack the same punch – pardon the pun.

‘The law of attraction is a powerful and invoking force that has helped many great people’ CORNELIUS VANDERBILT Amassed his fortune by believing in his own success dominating the railroads and seas. He controlled some of the busiest railroads in America, The New York Railroad and Grand Central Terminal.

JOHN PIERPONT ‘J.P’ MORGAN Built a financial engine based on banking and investment. He created the most successful mergers of his time and was an exceedingly important player in the formation of many economically important corporations such as the General Electric 1892 and the US Steel Corporation. Upon his death in 1913 he left behind $68.3 million dollars (which today would have been worth $1.39 billion!)

ANDREW CARNEGIE Was born into poverty in Scotland and then moved to America where he became one of the wealthiest people in the world through dominating the US Steel Industry.

After selling his business he gave away $350 million in the last 18 years of his life.

HENRY FORD “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t you’re right”. Ford believed in manifesting success through clear vision and purpose. He was a US visionary who was very well known for his cars and also helped with the dawning of the mass production revolution.

RICHARD BRANSON Founder of Virgin. Started his business in a small record shop which rapidly expanded into a multi-billion pound industry involving trains, cosmetics, bridal wear, personal finance and aviation.

In conclusion, the law is not only an invoking but also inspiring force that has helped many. But it is your choice to use it – remember ‘If you believe you will achieve’.

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Awards galore for Harlow Town Park and Parndon Wood Parndon Wood Nature Reserve and Harlow Town Park have both been recognised by the Green Flag Award Scheme as two of the very best green spaces in the world.

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T IS THE 11TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR FOR PARNDON WOOD, while the Town Park celebrates a fourth year in a row. They are among a record-breaking 1,970 UK parks and green spaces, and 131 in 13 other countries around the world that in July received a prestigious Green Flag Award – the mark of a quality park or green space.

This international award, now into its third decade, is a sign to the public that the space boasts the highest possible environmental standards, is beautifully maintained and has excellent visitor facilities.

Set on the southern outskirts of Harlow, Parndon Wood has been recorded as a woodland for at least 900 years and therefore can be termed as “ancient woodland”. The site was turned into a Local Nature Reserve in 1974 and the reserve was also designated a Special Site for Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to its flora and value as an educational resource.

Harlow Town Park was opened in 1957 and covers 164 acres of beautiful green space. Designed by Dame Sylvia Crowe, the Park features Pets’ Corner and its inclusive playground, five unique gardens, a bandstand, an adventure playground, an outdoor gym, a paddling pool, a skate park, Spurriers House Café and the Stort Valley Meadows.

News of the Town Park’s Green Flag Award came after Pets’ Corner was inducted into the TripAdvisor 2019 Hall of Fame, after holding a Certificate of Excellence for five years.

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Gold Standard Award for the new inclusive playground in the park

For more information on the Green Flag Awards scheme, visit www.greenflagaward.org.uk If you are interested in volunteering at Harlow Town Park:

Town Park Volunteers

Email mike.levett@harlow.gov.uk or phone 01279 446834

Pets’ Corner Volunteers

Email justin.hopwood@harlow.gov.uk or phone 01279 422790

Friends of Pets’ Corner

Email friendsofharlowpetscorner@yahoo.com If you are interested in volunteering at Parndon Wood: And there was more good news for Harlow Council later in July when Pets’ Corner’s new, inclusive playground was awarded a gold standard by PiPA (plan inclusive play areas). PiPA provides an independent assessment of how accessible and inclusive play areas are. The playground earned the gold standard by scoring 97.6% out of 100% in four different categories.

The inclusive playground, which opened in April 2019, provides facilities for families of all ages and abilities including children and adults with different needs and disabilities.

The playground was funded by Harlow Council and Essex County Council’s shortbreaks fund.

Thirty different pieces of equipment including swings, slides, a roundabout (with wheelchair access), trampoline, sensory path and plants, a music zone, suspension bridge (with wheelchair access), a treehouse, picnic area and a quiet area are provided in the playground. The area has proved to be a very popular new attraction with local families and visitors to the park.

The Town Park is owned by Harlow Council and is maintained by officers, HTS and volunteer teams. Parndon Wood Nature

Email lazer.woolf@ecco.org.uk or phone 01279 430005 Reserve is maintained by the council and local organisation ECCO.

Wildspace!

Maintaining this level of quality for this long is no easy task. Thanks to the teams of volunteers including Parndon Wood’s Wildspace Volunteers, the Harlow Conservation Volunteers, Town Park Volunteers and the Friends of Pets’ Corner who give up their own time and put in a lot of hard work to keep open spaces looking beautiful.

Parndon Wood is located off Parndon Wood Road, Harlow CM19 4SF

Volunteers, email wildspace@harlow.gov.uk

Harlow Conservation Volunteers Email hcv@harlowwildlife.org.uk

The playground earned the gold standard by scoring 97.6% out of 100% in four different categories.

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E N T E R P R I S I N G Work continues at some pace at the Harlow Enterprise Zone, with the completion of the first two buildings on the Science Park site at the beginning of September.

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H A R L O W

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NE OF THESE IS A 15,000 SQ FT Business Innovation Centre for Anglia Ruskin University, known as Arise, providing space for small and start-up businesses. The other, known as Nexus, is being developed by Harlow Council to provide grow-on space for businesses in the Science and Technology sectors with units available from 2,500 sq ft to 10,000 sq ft. Nexus will, by early 2020, also feature a café on the ground floor to provide a local amenity and also the opportunity for business meetings and networking utilising the free wifi in the building.

Both buildings will benefit from the UltraFast Broadband network being installed in the Science Park. Additionally, the Nexus building is aiming to become the first building in Essex to achieve the Wired Score ‘Platinum’ rating for internet connectivity.

Enquiries about space in both buildings can be made to: Arise – aideen.mccambridge@anglia.ac.uk Nexus – chris.white@wrenbridge.co.uk The next phase of development at the Science Park will start in the autumn with the commencement of five 10,000 sq ft ‘hybrid’ units combining office, research and production space. These units, known as ‘Modus’, are targeted at growth companies engaged in light industrial activities with a requirement to combine product development with some production and/ or prototyping space. Negotiations are underway with a number of companies for these units in the electronics and life sciences sectors and it is expected that some pre-lets will be secured before the end of the year.

Plans are also underway to establish a children’s nursery on the site to provide a facility for people working at the Science Park and Kao Park as well as for local residents. A preferred operator has been selected and this development will take place during 2020, providing space for around 100 children. Further details can be obtained via the Science Park website www.helloharlow.co.uk and chris.white@wrenbridge.co.uk

The Nexus building is aiming to become the first building in Essex to achieve the Wired Score ‘Platinum’ rating for internet connectivity.

Kao Park Meanwhile, at Kao Park, the data centre development continues. Earlier this year, the developers signed a new funding agreement with Legal and General to take forward the next phase of the development. Legal and General have acquired a 49% stake in the business and it is now planned to commence the construction of the second data centre by the end of this year.

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New scheme

The Harlow Makers Market: Helping local creatives held in June, formed part of Harlow’s Big Weekender which also included the Harlow Carnival and the End of the Carnival Show Show!

It’s been a great way of increasing footfall in the newly refurbished Market Square as well as supporting local business people, and is now a regular feature in Harlow’s calendar.

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HE HARLOW MAKERS MARKET has been breathing new life into Market Square since its launch in November 2018 and is now a regular fixture in the north of the town centre.

Local makers, bakers and creators have been given the opportunity to put their wares on show, selling a range of unique, bespoke and handmade products from wooden garden ornaments, baked goods and homemade cards to knitwear, jewellery, preserves and chutneys and ceramics.

The next Makers Market will take place on Saturday 28 September 2019. Anyone interested in taking part in the next event can register their interest at www.harlow.gov.uk/makers-market

introduced to reward volunteers A new scheme has been introduced to reward volunteers who do their bit for Harlow town.

Harlow Time Credits rewards residents who volunteer for organisations like Integration Support Services, Harlow Youth Council, Harlow Art Trust, Rainbow Services and Harlow Citizens Advice Bureau.

Time credits earned can be spent on leisure, cultural or community activities in Harlow as well as many other places across the country.

The scheme is supported by Harlow Council, with national social enterprise Tempo working in partnership with Rainbow Services, to build a network of Time Credits earn and spend opportunities.

Work is taking place to get more volunteer organisations, local attractions and activities signed up to the scheme.

More information on the Time Credits scheme can be found at www.timecredits.com or email wendy@rainbowservices.org.uk

Harlow Council is proud to be sponsoring this edition of Stories magazine

There have now been three Makers Markets and each one has been a great success, bringing together local artists, designers, crafters, entertainers, producers, cooks and bakers and providing a platform for them to sell their products. The latest one,

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Business Networking Harlow and District Chamber of Commerce

Promote a number of events throughout Harlow: www.harlowchamber.co.uk/events.

For more information, contact us on 01279 271104.

Harlow BNI

Meets every Wednesday at the Park Inn Hotel at 6:30 for a 7am start. BNI networking follows a strict agenda designed to maximise results – a formula that has proven itself over many years. If interested please contact Robin Stretton at Robin@bnisoutheast.co.uk

Harlow Makers Market

Events St Clare Hospice Walking in Memory

Walking in Memory is a new event which will bring together hundreds of local people and families to take part in a 5k walk in honour of a loved one. The walk will begin at 11am on Sunday 15 September.

For more information or to book your place visit www.harlow.gov.uk/st-clarehospice-walking-memory

Free digital marketing seminars for local businesses

The Harlow Guardian and LOCALiQ are hosting a FREE digital seminar at Harlow Football Club on Wednesday 18 September from 10.00am – 12noon. In this session you will learn how to grow your business by generating quality leads and build your brand awareness, digitally.

For more information or to book your place visit www.harlowchamber.co.uk/ events/event/538-digital-marketing

Harlow’s Makers Market is a specialist, unique market offering a range of hand crafted, artisan products not available from the high street. The Makers Market will be held in the Town Centre Market Square on Saturday 28 September and Saturday 7 December 2019.

For more information or to book a stall visit www.harlow.gov.uk/makers-market

Harlow Community & Business Awards The 2019 Harlow Community & Business Awards dinner takes place at the Manor of Groves on Thursday, 3 October 2019. 24 businesses and people will be recognised for their contribution to the town.

To book a table, please contact Robert Findlay - r.j.findlay@btinternet.com

Harlow Fireworks night

Harlow Council’s annual free admission bonfire and fireworks night takes place at the Showground in Harlow Town Park on Sunday 3 November. Bonfire lit at 6:45pm, fireworks display starts at 7pm.

Harlow Ambassador meeting

The next Harlow Ambassadors meeting will be on Thursday 5 December from 8:00 - 9:30 am at Anglia Ruskin University Business Innovation Centre, Maypole Boulevard, Harlow Science Park, Harlow, CM17 9LX For more information or to book your place visit www.discoverharlow.co.uk/ or email discoverharlow@harlow.gov.uk We look forward to seeing you there.

WIBN Harlow

Women in Business Networking meets at Miller and Carter in Harlow. This women-only event meets at midday one Tuesday each month. More information can be found at www.wibn.co.uk/groups-members/harlow/

HARLOW LINK

is a free monthly networking meeting especially for small and independent businesses in Harlow and surrounding areas.

Held at the Harlow Enterprise Hub Harlow Link is a vibrant, informal networking event.

For more information contact the NWES team at Harlow Enterprise Hub

Recommended Resources: Meetup & Eventbrite

These are fantastic resources for info on the latest and closest events, they even select relevant gatherings based on your personal interests or business specialism.

Facebook

Networking Herts and Essex Search Facebook for local groups and networking opportunities.

Networking is invaluable to support the growth of your business, connections and little black book and also to share ideas and collaborate.

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M11

Gilston Park GILSTON VILLAGES

Templefields Enterprise Zone Harlow Mill

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Junction 7a EAST OF HARLOW

Harlow Town

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Harlow & Gilston Garden Town Gilston Park

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GILSTON VILLAGES

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TOWN CENTRE

Public Health England

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Templefields Enterprise Zone

As part of the Garden Town project, 16,000 new homes will be built HE HARLOW & GILSTON GARDEN Town project provides one by 2033 and a further 7,000 will be built in the Gilston Area beyond of the most exciting growth opportunities of any place in the Harlow Junction 2033. This new7adevelopment will provide a great range of quality UK. The project will result in the creation of new communities Mill Eastwick homes for people to live in, including new homes close to the town in Harlow, will support the regeneration of Harlow and its District boundariesbeautiful new people, town centre, and will provide many new job opportunities in the E A S T O F centre, homes which are affordable for local Sawbridgeworth HARLOW urban communities, and a series of brand new villages, with vast town,High which includes the arrival of Public Health England in their new, Harlow Train stations Wych headquarters.

Town areas of open space and the River Stort Valley on the doorstep. relocated, ve Fi r

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East Herts, Epping Forest and Harlow District Councils are working London Road Hospital Newhall together Hwith Hertfordshire and EssexEnterprise CountyZone Councils to plan and r t h av e u o F support the delivery T O W N of the Garden Town. Over the last year, the C EDirector NTRE Garden Town has been working with the councils to build a Public Health small and professional team of officers to ensure that the aspirations England Templefields Zone ofEnterprise the councils are turned into reality

District boundaries

Sustainable Transport Corridor (incl. walking and cycling)

Train stations

Sustainable Transport Corridor potential extension (incl. walking and cycling)

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Once Harlow the final team members are in place, working alongside the Junction 7a GardenMill Town Director will be a team who will all come together to e r n Way h t work inSHarlow to develop and deliver the regeneration and growth ou EAST OF proposals that will transform Hthe A R Larea.

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New neighbourhoods and villages We are in the process of developing a dedicated website for the Garden Town, but in the meantime, please visit one of the following Harlow Town Centre and local centres websites for further information on the Harlow & Gilston Garden Town project:Industrial areas www.harlow.gov.uk/garden-town www.eastherts.gov.uk/gilston Enterprise Zones / PHE www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/planning-and-building/planning-policy/ harlow-and-gilston-garden-town/ Existing neighbourhoods and villages

The Harlow & Gilston project will deliver thousands of new quality Junction 7 L A T T O Ncreate spaces for business, homes in and around Harlow, commerce PRIORY London Road and industry to thrive Newhall at the centre of the UK’s Innovation Corridor Enterprise Zone and provide transformative and innovative new transport and community infrastructure.

The project will support the provision of fast, high quality and affordable ways to travel around town without using a car. It will provide new schools; new health facilities, and new community facilities; and will see vast new areas of public green spaces for all to enjoy.

New / improved road river crossing New neighbourhoods and villages

Potential road extension

Industrial areas Enterprise Zones / PHE

Existing neighbourhoods and villages

Sustainable Transport Corridor (incl. walking and cycling)

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New / improved pedestrian and cycle link

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Potential hospital redevelopment Land only to be developed for potential hospital relocation

Pictured right, top to bottom: Short terrace, London Road, Newhall; Newhall Primary School and Nursery; 36,37 & 38 New Pond Street, Newhall

Voting is now open for the prestigious Harlow Architectural Design Awards (HADA) 2019 Harlow is growing rapidly and these annual awards encourage the highest standards of architecture, landscaping and development while preserving the environment and the town’s heritage.

Harlow Architectural Design Awards was set up in 2015 with the aim of finding out what Harlow residents consider to be good architecture – not what they are told it is. That’s why the winners are chosen by residents’ votes rather than by a panel of experts.

Thank you to everyone who nominated new buildings for the 2019 Awards. Throughout September you can see the shortlist on the HADA website www.harlowarchitecturaldesignawards.org.uk and vote for your favourite building.

The winners of HADA 2019 will be announced on Sunday 13 October at 4pm at Harlow Rugby Club. There are trophies by local artists to be awarded for Residential, Non-Residential and Environmental categories.

HADA is organised by the Harlow Civic Society and is sponsored by Places for People and Architecture & Design Services.

Your vote on Harlow’s architecture counts.

The voting is open to find Harlow’s best new architecture in 2019. This is the fourth year that Harlow Civic Society has run its architecture award programme in which residents can nominate and vote for their favourite newly completed projects in three categories: Residential, Non-Residential and Environmental.

The shortlists are published and voting is via the website www.harlowarchitecturaldesignawards.org.uk. The results will be announced at a celebration event at the Rugby Club on Sunday 13 October at 4pm.

ECC Highways and Transportation update The dualling of Edinburgh Way and the new junction onto the M11 at J7a are the two major highway schemes ECC is currently progressing in Harlow.

positively and the revised programme means that the main works will be completed in March/April next year with overall completion by the end of April 2020.

The Edinburgh Way scheme has now been underway for some time, delayed primarily by the slow progress made by the utility companies carrying out their works.

However, progress is now being made

The M11 J7a scheme has planning permission and has also recently been through a Public Inquiry. Early works have been progressed on-site, with the relocation of a major gas main over the last year

and more recently moving other utilities along Gilden Way, so that when the main works start there are no delays to those.

The contractor will be appointed later this year. Works will start in early 2020 and be completed during the winter/early spring of 2022/23, although more precise dates will be known once a contractor is appointed.

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H A R LOW TOWN C ENT R E

AWARDS

The Harlow Town Centre Awards are now in their third year with winners announced at a ceremony on 24th September.

Harlow Council are now talking to prospective awards sponsors and supporters to help drive mutual awareness and promotional reach.

H

ARLOW TOWN CENTRE HAS LONG played a significant role in Harlow and for the town’s residents.

Whether it has been somewhere we have worked, shopped or played, the town centre has been a consistent feature in the town’s history and will continue to be so in the future. Today, the town centre is home to over 400 businesses from all different sectors, not just retail and leisure and employs over 5,000 people demonstrating the importance of the town centre in Harlow and further afield as a subregional shopping centre.

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Organised in partnership with Harlow Council, Phoenix Resource Centre and Strawberry Star Homes, the Harlow Town Centre Awards recognise and celebrate the individuals and teams that make the town centre special. In its third year the Awards have grown from strength to strength with over 60 businesses, organisations, projects and individuals nominated for an award last year and it is hoped that this year more businesses and individuals will get behind the initiative to recognise more of the good work and dedication that goes into creating Harlow Town Centre.

Nominations for the 2019 Harlow Town Centre Awards took place during August with nominations made for a variety of categories from Retailer of the Year, Community Project of the Year to Employee of the Year.

Following shortlisting of the nominations you can now vote for your winners by visiting www.harlowtowncentre.co.uk/ awards. The winners will be presented with their trophies at a ceremony on Tuesday 24th September 2019.

To support the development of the Awards and ensure there continued success we

are continually looking for sponsorship partners. Sponsoring an award provides the opportunity for organisations to demonstrate their commitment to the town and the town centre, gain publicity and positive branding with your logo and details on all relevant marketing and the awards themselves.

In its third year the Awards have grown from strength to strength with over 60 businesses, organisations, projects and individuals nominated for an award last year

Last year we surpassed our reach with well over 1,000 votes cast during the nomination and voting and our media reach dramatically increasing to an average audience of over 1,500 as well as hosting the awards ceremony attending by over 100 businesses, organisations their employees and families.

The promotional reach that the awards had in its first two years has been astounding and provides momentum to build on for future Awards. If you are interested in sponsoring an Award please contact: david.sellings@harlow.gov.uk

Exhibitions at Parndon Mill Chroma City, which runs until 15 September, is the latest exhibition at Parndon Mill.

Featuring paintings by Debbie Ayles and ceramics by Michele Connell, the exhibition explores the patterns found in architectural landscapes, giving a fleeting glimpse of life where people spend their day. It looks like a fascinating exhibition and the perfect excuse to take yourself over to Parndon Mill to explore.

More information about Parndon Mill and future exhibitions can be found at www.parndonmill.co.uk

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HA R LOW AMBAS SAD O R S

TELLING THE NEW STORY OF HARLOW Harlow is poised for exciting growth and development.

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W

E HAVE TAKEN A LONG HARD LOOK at what makes this a special place and our new story explains what Harlow has to offer. To forge our future, we have to do things differently to get the results we want. We need a fresh way for our public and private sectors to work together in order to compete nationally and internationally like never before. We have a compelling story for Harlow and now we need to tell it.

Harlow is everyone’s business.

Harlow Ambassadors: • Is a scheme that will unite businesses, organisations and individuals across the area in a powerful alliance to help develop and promote Harlow as a place of choice, help challenge perceptions, and raise the profile of the area.

• Will be proactive advocates for Harlow locally, nationally and internationally, an influential, group committed to the local area with the power to influence how it is marketed, how it is portrayed in the media, with the know-how, contacts and will to drive change.

• Will bring together the knowledge, networks, passion and determination of businesses, organisations and individuals as a powerful salesforce, helping Harlow compete, attracting investment, business and visitors to create a more successful economy through their day to day activity.

• Is a network that can influence the development of the area through ideas, fresh thinking, involvement and resource.

• Are proud, proactive, passionate and positive. They are creative and constantly look for new ways to sell the area. They recognise they can boost the local economy – and enjoy greater success themselves - by championing the place professionally, publicly and with pride.

If this sounds like you or your organisation, then Harlow Ambassadors is for you.

Why Become a Harlow Ambassador?

High-level networking and collaboration • Become part of and have access to a powerful network of influencers and decision-makers through regular meetings and events • Hear about new developments and opportunities first from those in the know.

Speakers will range from key players leading to the area’s major developments to senior figures across the region and UK Raising your organisation’s profile Ambassadors have the opportunity to raise their profile through: • Circulation of your good news stories in print and online • Profiling on the DiscoverHarlow website • A Place presence at key external business and investment events • Hosting meetings Access to marketing materials To help support your organisation and promote Harlow, various materials have been produced including: • The Harlow storybook, which outlines our new story and thinking about how the place will develop and promote itself • A bank of high-quality place photography based on the new story • A show reel promoting Harlow as a Place of innovation and choice • A comprehensive design toolkit including graphic files and fonts that will help you/ your marketing teams to incorporate the visual brand in your corporate materials and reduce design cost. Designed to work with and complement - not replace - your own brand

More materials will be developed in the future and these will be determined by resources and what Ambassadors identify they need in order to promote their business and the area.

We need a fresh way for our public and private sectors to work together in order to compete nationally and internationally like never before

Get Involved If you want to make connections with other people and organisations that have the passion, enthusiasm, commitment and desire to champion Harlow, then get in touch.

Harlow Ambassadors provides an opportunity for every organisation of whatever size to get involved. Should fees be introduced at a later stage for Ambassadors, all monies received will be used for activities and materials to promote Harlow.

If you would like to discuss how your organisation can get involved, please contact Carole Hudson or Sharon Summerfield at Discover Harlow discover.harlow@harlow.gov.uk or phone 01279 446389 / 446947

Stories

The purpose of the sculpture was not to decorate the town. It was not a form of costume jewellery. Rather it was to be enjoyed for its own sake as visual art, and to add interest and visual diversity to the urban spaces in which it is set.

SIR FREDERICK GIBBERD

IN ASSOCIATION WITH DISCOVER HARLOW

REAL STORIES ABOUT REAL PEOPLE