Harlow and Gilston Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Gilston Area?

The Gilston Area is a site allocated for development in the East Herts District Plan. It also forms part of the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town programme of development in and around Harlow.

How many new homes are being built?

The Gilston Area will provide 10,000 homes to help meet the challenging level of housing need in the District up to 2033 and beyond.

Will the homes meet East Herts housing needs or those of Harlow?

All 10,000 homes will help meet the needs of East Herts.

Will there be any affordable housing?

Yes. The site will provide a minimum of 23% affordable housing (equating to 2,300 homes), providing affordable rent and routes to home ownership. As the development progresses, opportunities will be taken to increase the percentage of affordable housing through an affordable housing review process, which will look at the viability of the development at key milestones.

What size houses will there be?

There will be a mixture of flats and houses, ranging from one to five bedrooms, reflecting the level of need in the District. However, the precise mix will be agreed through Village Housing Schemes and through detailed Reserved Matters Applications.

Will there be supporting infrastructure as well as housing?

The Gilston Area will provide a significant amount of on-site infrastructure to support the development. This will include:

New schools. The Gilston Area will deliver sufficient early years, primary and secondary school places to meet the full needs of new residents
Health centre including GP services and community health services
Community Buildings
Leisure facilities including a sports centre and playing pitches for football, cricket, tennis and bowls
Retail units, including convenience stores and eateries
Commercial units for local businesses
Parklands and other green spaces, including water features and heritage trails.

Will the roads in the area cope with the extra cars?

East Herts has worked closely with neighbouring councils as well as Hertfordshire and Essex County Councils and Highways England to ensure that the strategic road network can cope with proposed growth, both within the Gilston Area and other sites in and around Harlow. The s106 legal agreement secures a variety of transport schemes to be delivered by the Gilston Area developers as well as contributions towards other transport schemes. Schemes include:

A new Junction 7a on the M11
Sustainable Transport priority and new junction and bridge infrastructure – Central Stort Crossing (Eastwick junction to Burnt Mill roundabout)
A second Stort Crossing running from Eastwick Road to River Way – Eastern Stort Crossing
Sustainable transport improvements to A1184 in Sawbridgeworth
Upgrades to the Amwell roundabout on the A414
Upgrades to various roads and junctions within Harlow, some of which have been completed already or are currently underway – North to Centre Sustainable Transport Corridor (Burnt Mill Roundabout to Harlow Town Centre

What about more sustainable forms of transport?

New and extended bus services will serve the new development which will take passengers to Harlow and further afield.
The site benefits from its proximity to Harlow Town train station. The Council and the developers have worked with the Train Operating Company throughout the planning process and work is underway to assess opportunities for improving the layout of the station, including through a new northern access.

Encouragement of walking and cycling will form a key part of the development. In particular, there is an aspiration to create a network of Sustainable Transport Corridors through Harlow and work is currently underway on the first part of the network from the town centre northwards to Burnt Mill Roundabout, which will connect to the Gilston Area via the Central Stort Crossing scheme.

Will Rye Meads Sewage Treatment Works be able to cope with the level of development?

Rye Meads serves a wide catchment covering large parts of eastern Hertfordshire and west Essex. Thames Water has advised that Rye Meads has sufficient capacity to cater for all the growth proposed in the wider area up to 2026. Through their usual planning processes, Thames Water will consider what further investment will be required to provide capacity based on demand. The Council will continue to engage with neighbouring Councils, Thames Water and the Environment Agency to monitor growth to ensure appropriate upgrades are planned when needed.

Won't wildlife be harmed?

Part of the area is currently used as agricultural fields which, due to modern farming practices, do not provide high quality habitats for wildlife. As part of the Gilston Area development, hundreds of hectares of parklands and other managed open spaces will be provided that have the potential to increase biodiversity. In addition, there are proposals to enhance the environment of the Stort Valley to the south of the development site.

How will the issue of flooding be addressed?

Areas that are at risk from river flooding will not be developed as part of the development - these will be used for recreation and wildlife. The risk of surface water flooding, caused by an increase in impermeable surfaces, can also be reduced by introducing sustainable drainage techniques that gather excess water. This issue will be addressed through the masterplanning and detailed Reserved Matters Applications and monitored on an ongoing basis.

How will the infrastructure be funded?

The developers will fund all of the infrastructure to be provided on-site. They will also be required to make significant financial contributions towards other infrastructure schemes off-site like highways projects. The required level of funding is set out in a legal document known as a Section 106 document. This document also identifies when infrastructure should be delivered, taking account of the number of homes built at any given stage.

The remaining funding for off-site schemes will come from a variety of sources including: financial contributions from other development sites, funding from the two County Councils, funding from Government and other sources as appropriate.

Will the Gilston Area end up being bigger than 10,000 homes in future?

No, land surrounding the development will continue to be protected. In addition, the ownership of the land immediately to the north of the village development areas, which will accommodate much of the new parklands and open space, will be handed over to a Community Stewardship Trust. This will mean that the local community will decide on what the land is used for in future, rather than developers or the Council.

Can the local community influence what the development will look like?

There have been extensive opportunities for community engagement throughout the application process, and through the preparation of the first masterplans for the strategic landscape area and Villages 1 and 7. Engagement will continue when the developers prepare detailed proposals for the matters that are reserved from the outline permissions. Future pre-application engagement will also take place when the developers prepare future masterplans for later villages.

A Shadow Stewardship Body will be established which will include community representatives. This body will be consulted on emerging proposals relating to community assets and will evolve over time as the development progresses.

When will building commence?

Planning permission was granted for the two Gilston Area developments in January 2025. Works will start on the delivery of below-ground infrastructure in Village 1 and Village 7 in late 2025, with construction of first homes starting in late 2026. Construction works have started on the Central Stort Crossing and will continue for several years, starting on land within East Herts between the Eastwick junction and Terlings Park.

What is the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town?

Garden Towns and Villages are part of the Government's drive to increase the level of house building across the country. East Herts, working jointly with Harlow and Epping Forest Councils plus Hertfordshire and Essex County Councils, applied to Government to seek support for a Garden Town covering the wider Harlow area (the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town). The Garden Town initiative covers Harlow and areas surrounding the town within East Herts and Epping Forest Districts. Overall, it is expected that around 16,000 homes will be built by 2033, including approximately 3,000 homes in the Gilston Area within East Herts. The remaining homes in the Gilston Area will be built after 2033.

The Government decided to support the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town in January 2017. The Government's support will provide the three councils with funds to undertake technical work, and will also provide access to other funds that may assist with things like infrastructure delivery.
Updates on the Garden Town project will be provided on this webpage.