Vision for £33.5m Harlow cultural quarter revealed

Harlow District Council has submitted plans for a town centre arts and cultural quarter, expected to cost £33.5m.

The proposals, which include a new live performance venue and exhibition space, are partially backed by £20m of support from the government’s Levelling Up fund.

As part of the scheme, the existing Playhouse Theatre will acquire a new extension, adding an arts-led pavilion, performance space, music school and recording studio, and a café, restaurant and bar.

READ MORE

• Levelling Up fund provides £594m for culture and heritage
• Culture gets £100m in final Levelling Up funding round

The area would also gain flexible art studios, a public square offering outdoor performance space, and a new location for the Gibberd Gallery. Additionally, 47 one- and two-bedroom flats will be built on the recently demolished Occasio House site.

If the planning application is successful in March, the council expects work on the two-year project to begin in the autumn, with the aim of establishing the area as a destination for art and cultural events.

Council Leader Dan Swords said: "We're kicking off 2024 as we mean to go on to rebuild our town and put the heart back into Harlow town centre. This will be the year that the regeneration of Harlow town centre finally starts."

Swords hailed the £20m of levelling up funding awarded to the council in October 2023 as a “historic moment” in delivering on the council’s commitment to “entirely rebuild our town centre”. Harlow has also received £23.7 m from the government’s Town’s Fund.