In this part of Harlow they really set the bar high
A new place to live, a new place to house your dreams
A gentle Newhall Skyline against the Essex sky
Somewhere very different to your normal housing schemes;
Using residents’ ideas and building from the ground
Combine urban and rural in an intertwining dance.
Listen: trees grow and people grow too; this is the sound
Of a neighbourhood deciding it’s time to take a chance
To be itself, to be the very best that it can be
On the fringes of the city, on the edges of the green
This is modernity, tradition. Just take a look and see
At how they live in Newhall; you’ll get what I mean
When I say that Newhall is a model for the rest.
So before the first plan’s drawn: decide to be the very best.

British urbanists know the significance of Sir Frederick Gibberd’s post-war Harlow New Town. Although unattractive to investors in recent years, high prices in London plus good road and rail connections make it a viable proposition. As a result, Harlow is attracting new employers and improving the housing stock. Newhall demonstrates how sensitive neighbourhood development can help revive a town and create a unique living environment. The key to its success is that the original landowner, through a development company, has retained control of how it is built. It has worked with a number of developers, only allocating sites to them when satisfied with the quality of the proposed architecture and urban design. Newhall is a welcome approach to housing and community development that respects the best elements of the legacy of Harlow. Its location, strong urban design and social mix will create a distinct neighbourhood in the former New Town.