Harlow Gateway shortlisted for Sustainable Communities Award
The Harlow Gateway project which is bringing new homes and leisure facilities to the town has been shortlisted for a national award.
The £50m regeneration project is one of just two entries shortlisted for the Creating a Lasting Legacy category in the Local Government Chronicle and Health Service Journal Sustainable Communities Awards 2009.
More projects than ever before were entered in this year's awards and organisers said it is a huge achievement to make the shortlist.
The Harlow Gateway Project is an innovative scheme to regenerate the town's leisure facilities by unlocking land for much needed housing and sports development.
The process of releasing land on the sites of the current Sportcentre and former swimming pool generated £11m in government funding towards the provision of new homes, a new football stadium, athletics track and world class community leisure centre, as well as regenerating playing pitches around the town.
The £25m community sports and leisure centre, currently under construction on Second Avenue, has already been earmarked as a training facility for Paralympians and Olympians in the run up to the 2012 Olympics in London.
"It is a tremendous achievement to get this far in a national awards process, particularly in view of the stiff competition in our chosen category," said a Harlow Gateway spokesman. "The Gateway project is an important scheme in the regeneration of Harlow and deserves to be recognised in this way."
The Harlow Gateway Partnership consists of Harlow District Council, Harlow and District Sports Trust; English Partnerships (the national regeneration agency) and DCLG (the Department for Communities and Local Government). In addition, the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), Harlow Town Football Club, Mark Hall School, and Science Alive are all supporting the Gateway initiative
Winners for each of the awards will be announced at a ceremony on 5 February, next year at The Brewery, London.