£20 million support for The Harlow Arts and Cultural Quarter (Levelling Up Fund 2)
£20 million from the Levelling Up Fund has been awarded to Harlow Council to create a new cultural quarter in the heart of Harlow Town Centre.
Harlow Playhouse Pavilion
Funding will help create a diverse art and vibrant quarter, establishing the area as a destination for art and cultural events; with Harlow Playhouse and St Paul’s Church remaining at the heart of the new quarter.
The offer of Harlow Playhouse will be extended with a new arts-led Pavilion to include:
- new performance space for live entertainment
- a music school and recording studio
- a contemporary café, /restaurant and bar
- new studios for arts and entertainment
- flexible spaces that can be used for events, smaller performances and community uses
A new home for the community
Harlow Arts and Culture Quarter will become a new home for the community. A new block at the former Occasio House site will provide a new location for:
- the Gibberd Gallery, exhibiting the Sir Frederick Gibberd Watercolour Collection and a centre for visual art, expanding on the town’s rich history of art and sculpture,
- new homes on the upper floors
A pedestrianised plaza
College Square and Playhouse Square will become an outdoor destination for the arts. It will be made into a pedestrianised-focused amphitheatre and plaza for the community, artists, performers and creatives.
The new amphitheatre and plaza will:
- see upgrades to the access at Hayden’s Road to improve the movement of vehicles
- be accessible, with disabled parking and other accessibly - designed open and engaging spaces
- have an improved taxi rank with better drop off provision
- include a new green play area and ‘pocket park’
- see improvements to the underpass to create a secure and welcoming arrival
Future developments being activated by the works for the Arts and Cultural Quarter include:
- redevelopment of the former BHS unit, adjacent to Harlow Playhouse
- a new location for the Library and Adult Community Learning services
- new homes to the upper floors.
These interventions combine to deliver a truly transformative regeneration to this key gateway into Harlow Town Centre.
Councillor Dan Swords, Deputy Leader of the Council, has hailed this as another historic moment for the regeneration of Harlow town centre. He said:
This is another historic moment for the regeneration of the town centre. We are delivering on the council’s commitment to entirely rebuild our town centre. We are also continuing our work with all our other regeneration priorities for the town, like building new council homes, repairing existing council homes and restoring pride in the town.
The new Arts and Cultural Quarter complements the package of projects supported by Harlow’s £25 million Town Deal.
Find out more about the regeneration of Harlow
Find out more about Levelling Up