Early in 2026, Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) refused the planning application in respect of Latton Priory. The developers have now appealed this decision, the outcome of which is likely to be known at the end of 2026.
The Harlow Residents Alliance (HRA), formerly known as the Harlow Alliance Party, has always objected to the proposals to build on Green Belt land in the middle of a field adjacent to Harlow’s border with Epping. Representatives of the Party attended the examination of the EFDC Local Development Plan (LDP) in 2019 to express the concerns residents had.
We knew the effect this development would have on residents living and working in the town. The town’s roads are already heavily congested, the hospital is no longer fit for purpose, schools are at bursting point, and it is near on impossible to get an appointment with a doctor.
To be frank, after so many years of talk, the Planning Application presented to EFDC is so full of holes there is no way that the Authority could possibly grant permission. HRA continues to have the following concerns:
Affordable Housing
The need for affordable housing has been well documented and follows extensive research across the whole of the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town. It is clear that the developers have seen a dramatic increase in building and labour costs since 2019 and as a result they cannot afford to build the number of affordable homes required and make a profit. HRA believe that is the consequence of building such a development in this location, in the middle of a field, without any services nearby. That of course is their problem, the need for more affordable homes in the area has not gone away, indeed it has increased since the LDP was adopted. If the current plan for this site cannot be developed to provide enough affordable housing the developers need to come up with one that does or abandon it altogether.
Sustainable transport corridor
The corridor is a key element in ensuring that the thousands of journeys taken by residents both old and new can quickly and safely travel in, around and through the town. Many of the towns roads are already heavily congested with vehicles, the roads having been designed in the early 1950s when there was far less car ownership. The Latton Priory development by it’s very nature will require most residents of working age to work elsewhere. Road junctions at Rye Hill Road and Paringdon Road and others nearby are already well beyond capacity and this is set to get much worse without mitigating action being taken, such as the construction of a sustainable transport corridor. The proposals put forward by the developers are laughable, indeed they will only make things worse than they are now. The targets set for the type of transport used by the new residents will never be met unless a corridor is completed before most of the new homes are occupied.
Access to and from the site.
The HRA has always believed that Latton Priory was not a suitable site for a new housing development, let alone one of the size proposed. Rye Hill road, its junction with Paringdon Road and other roads nearby simply do not have the capacity for the extra number of journeys taken by those who will live or work at Latton Priory. It is quite clear that a new road to and from Latton Prioty and the B1393 needs to be constructed at a very early stage of the development.
Epping Forest Special Area of Conservation (EFSAC)
As things stand the development fails to mitigate the impact upon the EFSAC.
In conclusion, some seven years since this area was included in the EFDC LDP, our concerns about this development have only increased. The developer is unable or unwilling to meet the requirements of the Plan and therefore we fully support the decision of EFDC to refuse the application.