THE HARLOW RESIDENTS ALLIANCE

Nicholas Taylor

Leader

I moved to Harlow in 1956 and attended Little Parndon and Burnt Mill School. In February 1970 I commenced work in the Housing Service of the Harlow Development Corporation and transferred to Harlow Council when it took over their housing stock. I subsequently became  the Area Housing Manager at the Stow Housing Office and then the Neighbourhood Manager at Bush Fair and Potter Street. I left Harlow in 2000 and became the Area Housing Manager for the north district at Epping Forest District from where I retired in 2013.

I am only too aware that many residents feel let down by Harlow Council. One only has to take a look around the town to see evidence of this, poorly maintained council homes, run down garage areas, estates that are desperately in need of more parking areas, flat blocks without bin storage areas, congested roads and a town centre which is long overdue being redeveloped to see why residents feel the way they do..

I believe that Harlow Council have made numerous poor decisions about what it will do and how it goes about it. The Government are placing intolerable pressure on all Local Authorities to build ever more homes in their District. With the prospect of thousands of new homes having to be built in and around Harlow, I feel the time has come when a new political party in Harlow is desperately needed. The Harlow Residents Alliance are committed to carrying out full and proper consultations with residents on all issues which will affect them.

Alan Leverett

Treasurer

I have lived in Harlow since 1973 and worked in local government for 40 years. I was employed by Harlow Council for 22 years in the Planning and Building Control service before taking early retirement to run my own small business. I am married with three sons who were all educated in local schools and have made their homes in the town.

I have experienced the town at its best and more recently at its worst. The town has become poorly maintained and public services have deteriorated due to poor council decisions and a lack of or mismanagement of finance. I now feel the time has come for local people to come together to achieve what they want for the town rather than letting politicians make poor decisions as to what they think is needed.

I believe that the public should be consulted and their views listened to in the decision making process.

The emergence of the Harlow Residents Alliance gives people the opportunity to come together with a common purpose to get the town on its feet again both for residents and the business community.

Karen James

I’ve lived in Harlow since 1997. During recent times, it has become very clear that common sense and the concerns of so many Harlow residents are being ignored.

We have been ignored by the developers whose only aim is to build houses, regardless of how the Town will struggle to cope with the huge increase in population that this over development will bring.

Existing social housing is poorly maintained with residents waiting months and even years for repairs to be carried out.

The level of need for affordable housing for Harlow residents is unmet in any of the new development plans.

Concerns about the negative effects of the huge level of development on our Town’s existing environment have been dismissed.

We have been ignored by the politicians who were elected by us to represent our local concerns. It’s time for a change, it’s time for Harlow’s residents to be heard.

Steve Barnes

My family and I moved to Harlow in 1957. I attended Spring Hills Primary School and then Burnt Mill Comprehensive School and loved to play football in a Town full of pitches and players that made up the biggest League in Europe.

In November 1972 I started my career as a Building Surveyor at Epping & Ongar Rural District Council (now EFDC) in the Engineers & Surveyors Dept.

Having spent 40 years plus years working in Regulatory Services at various London Authorities, International Distillers & Vintners (formerly Gilbeys) and British Airports Authority I returned to Epping Forest in 2014 until I finished my time in 2019.

This is my Town, I got married in a local church to a wonderful local girl and we’ve remained ever since because we were proud of our Town. My pride is however diminishing year by year because of the state we are letting the town get into and the failure of the Council to adequately communicate with its residents about their needs.

I became a member of the Harlow Residents Alliance because of the Councils shameful treatment of the local residents in relation to the former Sherards House site where they intend to ride roughshod over their own green Local Plan policies by felling 24 trees.

Your elected Councillors are there to represent the residents of their ward not the bias of their respective political parties.

If you need help to protect your green spaces in the town then contact us.