Living in Harlow: area guide to homes, schools and transport links

A 30-minute commute from London takes you to a town with great public art and a historic quarter.
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Anthea Masey2 November 2017

Harlow can claim a number of firsts. It had the first pedestrian-only town centre; the first residential tower block, The Lawn, in 1951 — and it is the world’s first “sculpture town”, having built a collection of world-class public artworks.

Henry Moore’s Family Group is in the Civic Centre, Elisabeth Frink’s Wild Boar is at the Water Gardens and there are pieces by Auguste Rodin, Barbara Hepworth and Lynn Chadwick.

This Essex town is also where Professor George Hockham and Nobel Physics Prize winner Sir Charles Kao pioneered fibre optics while working at Standard Telecommunication Laboratories.

One of a group of post-war new towns built in the countryside around London to house bombed-out East Enders, Harlow has been celebrating its 70th birthday this year, having grown from a rural village of only 4,500 people in 1947 to more than 82,000 residents today.

Master-planned by architect Sir Frederick Gibberd, who lived nearby and whose famous garden is open to the public in summer, the town was designed with green space a priority. It features a number of smaller settlements, each with their own local shopping centre separated by “green wedges”, with cycle lanes linking them to the town centre.

Estate agent Paul Brooker, of Howick & Brooker, predicts an exciting future for Harlow. He points to the originality of its design with lots of parks and green spaces, its good-value homes and exciting developments such as the new science park and the state-of-the art new rugby club in Howard Way.

If this sounds all very rosy, Harlow has had its dramas. The town has a large Polish community and Polish-born artist Jola Kudela was called in to create one of her signature murals with local people, following the violent death of a Polish man, Arkadiusz Jozwik, at The Stow shopping centre last summer.

The mural she created, entitled We are All in the Same Boat, adorns the back wall of Harlow Playhouse theatre.

Harlow is surrounded by beautiful rolling countryside close to the border with Hertfordshire
Daniel Lynch

Property scene

Surrounded by beautiful rolling countryside close to the border with Hertfordshire, there are period homes in Old Harlow and the villages surrounding the Essex town.

The most expensive home on the market now is nine-bedroom Sheering Hall east of the town centre, an 11,000sq ft pile priced £3.25 million.

Elsewhere, Harlow has affordable post-war terrace houses and you can still get a three-bedroom house under the £250,000 stamp duty threshold.

Bishopsfield, south of the town centre is an award-winning Sixties estate with alleyways and courtyards that have a certain charm.

What's new?

A new town north of Harlow on the Gilston Park Estate which could see 10,000 homes built, mainly by Places for People housing association, is still waiting to be finalised.

Harlow’s most interesting recent development is Newhall, east of the town centre. This new settlement between Church Langley and Old Harlow is on land owned by local farmers William and Jon Moen who have kept a firm grip on the design of all the homes, resulting in adventurous architecture.

The plan is to build 2,700 homes housing 6,000 people. There is already a village shop and a nursery, with a new community centre and primary school to follow. Cycle routes and green spaces echo master planner Sir Frederick Gibberd’s original Forties vision for Harlow.

Linden Homes and Bellway Homes are building at Newhall. Edge, a completed Linden scheme of 124 two-, three- and four-bedroom terrace and detached houses has 11 remaining, from £384,995 for a three-bedroom home. Call 01279 905714.

Bellway is building Fusion, with two- to four-bedroom houses at off-plan prices from £294,995 to £489,995. Call 01279 949108.

Three- and four-bedroom houses at Chantry Gardens in Old Harlow will be move-in ready in a couple of months, priced £495,000 to £675,000. Call Lanes New Homes on 01992 663890.

Developer Countryside and housing association Home Group are embarking on the £71 million regeneration of The Briars, Copshall Close and Aylets Field estates, where 343 new homes will be built, including 200 affordable.

Countryside has branded the development Atelier. Prices range from £329,995 for a two-bedroom semi to £449,995 for a four-bedroom detached house. Some are ready to move into, while others are for sale off-plan. Call 01279 219933.

Linden Homes is selling Langland Place in nearby Roydon, a finished development of 12 four- and five-bedroom houses. Only five-bedroom homes remain, starting at £944,995. Call 01279 949134.

Affordable homes

Home Group expects to launch one-and two-bedroom flats at Atelier soon (see above). Call 0800 073 0600.

Renting

Harlow does not have a large rental market — there are four times as many houses for sale as there are to rent. Prices range from £480 a month for a room in a house share, to £625 a month for a one-bedroom flat, to £1,250 a month for a three-bedroom flat in Newhall, to £2,950 a month for a five-bedroom village farmhouse.

Staying power

Local estate agent Paul Brooker says families who have made the move to Harlow tend to stay — at least until their children leave home.

Postcode

Harlow has four postcodes. The most desirable is CM17 which covers Old Harlow, Church Langley, Newhall and Matching Tye and Matching Green villages; CM18 is the town centre; CM19 is to the west of the town centre and CM20 is to the north.

Best roads

The best areas are Old Harlow, Church Langley and Newhall and the villages Matching Tye and Matching Green.

Up and coming

Estate agent Paul Brooker says the whole of Harlow is undervalued when compared to nearby Epping and Bishop’s Stortford.

Travel

Harlow is well-placed for the M11 and Essex county council says a planned new junction 7a, north of junction 7, will open in 2021.

Direct trains run to Liverpool Street station in 30 to 40 minutes from Harlow Town station, and take between 37 and 44 minutes from Harlow Mill station. All the trains stop at Tottenham Hale, where commuters for the West End of London change for the Victoria line Tube.

Another alternative is driving to Epping and taking the Central line. An annual season ticket from both Harlow Town and Harlow Mill to Liverpool Street costs £3,496.

Council

Harlow council is Labour controlled. Band D council tax in the 2017/2018 year is £1,662.06.

Lifestyle

Shops and restaurants

Harlow has two shopping centres — The Water Gardens and The Harvey Centre. The Water Gardens has a large Asda supermarket and branches of TK Maxx, Matalan, H&M, Topshop, River Island and Next, plus chain restaurants Five Guys, Pizza Express and Nando’s arranged around the tranquil formal Water Gardens that were designed by town planner Sir Frederick Gibberd.

The covered Harvey Shopping Centre suffered a blow in 2015 when Marks & Spencer closed. It is now anchored by Peacocks, Argos, Primark, Wilko and Iceland.

In spite of a number of fine sculptures including one by Lynn Chadwick, the original pedestrianised shopping streets behind the Harvey Centre are in a sorry state with poor-quality paving and seating and a market square dominated by oversized but neglected red flowerpots.

Open space

Harlow Town Park celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. It has a number of dedicated gardens including a water garden, a walled garden and the Stort Valley Meadows. Facilities include a paddling pool, bandstand, skate park, outdoor gym, adventure playground, a children’s petting zoo and café.

There are lovely walks along the River Stort to the north of the town centre and along the River Lee west of the town centre.

Leisure and the arts

The high point is Harlow’s sculpture trail. The town has 66 sculptures including works by some of the 20th century’s greatest artists including Lynn Chadwick, Elisabeth Frink, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and, also spanning the late 19th century, Auguste Rodin.

Harlow Playhouse has a busy programme of music, comedy, spoken word, theatre, dance and circus arts in its 400-seat and 120-seat theatres.

The Gibberd Gallery in the Civic Centre is run by the Harlow Art Trust and contains a collection of watercolours collected by Sir Frederick Gibberd including work by John Piper, John Nash, Elizabeth Blackadder and Edward Bawden.

The local council swimming pool is at Harlow Leisurezone in Second Avenue.

Schools

Primary school

All but three of Harlow’s state primary schools are rated “good” by Ofsted, although none has an “outstanding” rating.

Comprehensive

The “outstanding” state comprehensive school is Burnt Mill Academy (co-ed, ages 11 to 16) in First Avenue. Rated “good” are: St Mark’s West Essex RC (co-ed, ages 11 to 18) in Tripton Road; Stewards Academy (co-ed, ages 11 to 16) in Parnall Road; Passmores Academy (co-ed, ages 11 to 16) in Tracyes Road; Mark Hall Academy (co-ed, ages 11 to 16) in First Avenue, and Harlow College, an FE college in Velizy Avenue.

Private

Saint Nicholas School (co-ed, ages two to 16) in Hobbs Cross Road, Old Harlow, is the local all-through private school.