60% sustainable travel target as Harlow set to grow to rival Cambridge within a decade

The prospect of Harlow becoming as big as Cambridge within a decade means a “pioneering” travel strategy will be required.

That is the prediction from Harlow Council leader Cllr Dan Swords, chair of the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town joint committee.

The decision-making body will steer the delivery of 19,500 new homes in four neighbourhoods over the next 20 years, alongside town centre regeneration to create a total of 23,000 properties.

That includes 10,000 residences in seven new villages in East Herts. The district council’s leader, the Green Party’s Cllr Ben Crystall, is the only non-Tory on the five-strong committee.

Overall, the development is expected to boost the population by around 45,000 to a total of around 140,000 and 67,000 jobs – a 50% increase on the current Harlow population and employment base.

Planners say this “notable growth” will leave it as large as Cambridge, Oxford, Exeter and Norwich.

To achieve it, they add, 50% of all trips starting or ending in the existing communities of Harlow Town should be by active and sustainable travel modes – more than double the existing 23%.

They want the number of trips starting or ending in the new garden communities of Harlow and Gilston Garden Town by active and sustainable travel modes to reach 60%.

Cllr Swords said: “I don’t think anyone fails to recognise quite the scale of what we are talking about.

“And when you understand that the garden town in nine or 10 years’ time, we are suggesting, will be the same size as Cambridge or Exeter, it doesn’t seem such a distant concept that we will have to do something dramatically differently on active travel, moving away from where things are currently.

“Having said that, does that mean it is not an enormous challenge, particularly as you talk about existing residents moving from 23% sustainable journeys as they are currently to 50%?

“That doesn’t take a genius to work out that requires something genuinely pioneering and massively different to where things are now.”

The report from engineering consultants Arup concluded increasing bus use would be key – from its current use of less than 5% to as much as 15% – by producing frequent and reliable service as well as rebalancing the cost of travel so it is cheaper by car.

Cllr Swords added: “What the report does capture is that the interventions reference are more carrot and less stick.

“They are about providing genuine alternatives to people to change their travel patterns as opposed to banning the car and closing every car park-type thing.”