Harlow’s Gateway Project, the £50m regeneration scheme which is bringing much-needed housing and leisure facilities to the town, came runner-up in a top national awards ceremony last night (5 February). Beating rival entries from right across the UK to make the final shortlist, the ground-breaking Gateway Project secured 2nd prize and was “highly commended” at the Local Government Chronicle and Health Service Journal Awards 2009 within the ‘Creating a Lasting Legacy’ category.

A spokesperson for the Gateway Project said: “This is fantastic news for Harlow and for the Gateway Project. To be recognised as one of the best examples in the country of ‘creating a lasting legacy’ in this national award and to be highly commended by the judges is a tremendous achievement. The regeneration of Harlow is important in terms of the benefits and opportunities it is bringing to the local community. All of us in the Gateway Partnership are delighted that the Project has been recognised in this way – it’s another success story for Harlow.”

The £50m Gateway Project for the redevelopment and regeneration of Harlow is supported by £11m in funding from the Government and is delivering more than 600 new homes (30 per cent of them affordable), as well as first-class sport and leisure facilities, including a new football stadium, an athletics track, ‘Leisurezone’, the new state-of-the-art £25m sports centre and major investment into pitch regeneration across the town. It was this comprehensive and broad ranging investment which led the awards’ judges to view Harlow as one of the best examples of ‘creating a lasting legacy’ taking place across the UK.