The Harlow Gateway Project
Sponsors of the Young Sports Personality Award
Harlow project opens Gateway to new opportunities.
The Harlow Gateway Project is a major regeneration initiative bringing new homes and leisure facilities to the town.
The £50m project is a partnership between Harlow Council, The Homes and Communities Agency, Harlow and District Sports Trust and the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) which contributed £11m.The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is also supporting Harlow Gateway.
The focus of the project is developing two brownfield sites in the town to provide approximately 600 new homes - around one third of which are affordable - and building a new football stadium, athletics track and state-of-the art community leisure centre, as well as regenerating playing pitches around the town.
The major site, on Fifth Avenue, which will eventually provide 530 new flats and houses, was home to the football stadium and athletics track and still houses Harlow Sportcentre, which will remain open until the new leisure centre is up and running  towards the end of 2009.
The development is taking place in stages with the football stadium, athletics track and the first phase of housing on the Fifth Avenue site complete.
Work on the £25m community leisure centre is progressing well.It features a main swimming pool and learner pool, a sports hall which will double as a conference/concert/exhibition space, facilities for badminton/squash/tennis, extensive health and fitness suites and refreshment/ relaxation areas where members can chill out and meet friends. The centre will also incorporate a space for Science Alive, an interactive science and technology experience.
Both the £1million athletics track and £3m football stadium are already in use. The eight-lane, county standard athletics track is part of a wider, separately funded sports development at Mark Hall Community School and Sports College. The new football stadium has a main covered stand with seating for 3,000 spectators and is on the outskirts of the town, a mile and a half to the west of the club's old Sportcentre location.
Website: www.harlow.gov.uk/about_the_council/partners/the_harlow_gateway_project.aspx