Public Health England (PHE) is among many organisations at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19. There is hardly anyone within the organisation either not working on or supporting the totally unprecedented operation to tackle the virus which has dominated media headlines for many weeks now. At the tip of that effort are the hundreds of PHE scientists working with partners nationally and globally who are striving to contain and then eliminate the virus on a scale never seen before. Running parallel to that incredible work, is the programme which will deliver PHE’s new world-leading public health science campus at the former GSK site at Harlow. With state-of-the-art facilities and [...]

This month's blog comes from Sarah Thompson, CEO of St Clare Hospice, a local charity which cares for hundreds of people across West Essex and the East Hertfordshire border each year. This month we really should be celebrating; it’s St Clare Hospice’s 30th birthday, and we have just received an ‘Outstanding’ rating from the Care Quality Commission. However, due to coronavirus, we have put plans to celebrate on hold. Now is not the time. Instead we have had to launch an urgent fundraising appeal in a bid to offset the projected income loss of up to £100,000 from cancelling and postponing many of our key fundraising events this year. This amount [...]

Santhosh Gowda is the Chairman of Strawberry Star Group who are working on a new residential scheme HQ (Harlow Quarter) in Harlow town centre.  These are certainly exciting times for Harlow and we are proud to be part of this new chapter for the town! A vibrant Harlow town centre with upgraded amenities and facilities, including entertainment, new retail, cafes and bars, green spaces along with modern residential units in the heart of the town is soon set to become a reality. Over the past few years, our property company Strawberry Star has been creating new vibrant neighbourhoods through residential schemes in London and the commuter belt towns. Now, we are [...]

Photo Credit: David Levenson Guy Nicholson is the Chairman of the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town board. Over the last 20 years I’ve been involved in regeneration projects for communities and was part of the London 2012 Olympics project, supporting local communities in shaping the Bid, the Games and the Legacy. Playing a part in realising a new vision and legacy for Harlow is a great privilege and its reputation as a sculpture town is one that sits alongside my lifelong passion for arts and culture. The Harlow and Gilston Garden Town heralds a brand-new chapter in the history of Harlow and this March will see the community launch of the Garden [...]

Doreen Goodall is the General Manager of CanalAbility, a charity based in Harlow, dedicated to providing facilities for people with disabilities and special needs to enjoy boating on the river with specially adapted canal boats. A lot of people don’t even know about the river which winds its way secretively along the northern fringe of Harlow. I must admit, even I wasn’t aware of the River Stort until I became involved with CanalAbility. Working in London, I jumped on the train at Harlow Mill each day and then I put my head down until I arrived at Liverpool Street. But it’s amazing what you can see when you do get the [...]

Justin Hopwood is the Manager of Pets' Corner, the farm that has been at the centre of our Town Park for over 50 years. What is Christmas without reindeer, Santa without Rudolph? But I wonder how many of you have actually seen a reindeer. Not many children have, so getting the chance to meet one can really add something special to their Christmas. At Pets’ Corner we take our reindeer to visit local primary schools, nurseries and care homes to bring a bit of Christmas magic. We also like to support different charities each year with a reindeer visit – this year we are supporting PACT for Autism. [...]

Chris White is the Director of Wrenbridge, one of the leading commercial developers in the East of England, who are developing Harlow Science Park. Harlow is fast becoming a popular destination for business in the competitive London-Stansted-Cambridge innovation corridor, bringing fantastic opportunities to Harlow. With new developments like Harlow Science Park, it is easy to see why this trend is set to continue. Harlow Science Park, part of the larger Harlow Enterprise Zone, has been developed by Wrenbridge and Vinci Developments UK in partnership with Harlow Council, as a new destination for business, focusing on all areas of science, technology, research and innovation. The park offers 27 acres of Grade [...]

Michael Beard is the Head of External Community Engagement for the Public Health England Science Hub Programme. Work on our new £450 million public health science campus in Harlow has now begun. We are currently nearing the end of the first phase of demolition, beginning the earth work and underground preparation with a view to starting construction next year. One of the questions we often get asked is why Harlow? One of the key reasons we chose Harlow was its strategic position in the London-Stansted-Cambridge life sciences corridor (LSCC). There are 37 life sciences research institutes in the LSCC corridor and 1,400 life sciences businesses. Harlow sits at the very [...]

Roger Lee is the Project Manager at Parndon Mill. Greetings from Parndon Mill hub of creativity and part of hidden Harlow! Although we’re hidden on the fringes of Harlow we do feel we are an important aspect of the town’s cultural asset and are deeply rooted with our fellow cultural venues. It’s been a busy year so far and I’m delighted to have seen a good few Harlow Ambassadors enjoying our exhibitions in the Gallery. It has been brilliant to see the growth in both the number and range of people coming to visit us over recent years.  We now have around 3,700 student engagements a year and our annual Open [...]

Paul McLintic, of Harlow Civic Society, is the organiser of the Harlow Architectural Design Awards. People often ask me what it is they should look out for when nominating a building for the Harlow Architectural Design Awards.  That question is a way of asking “What is it that makes a good design?” I have some sympathy with these questioners because I too am not an architect so I look at Harlow’s buildings and open spaces with an equally inexpert eye. Sometimes I see a building I like, that pleases me in the way it looks and which seems to fit into the space it is occupying and sometimes it’s to the [...]