Partnership will deliver six villages in East Hertfordshire, with nearly 2,000 affordable homes 

Places for People (PfP) and Barratt Redrow have received approval for the first phase of their 8,500-home East Hertfordshire masterplan.

The first of six interconnected villages will deliver up to 1,600 homes around a new village square, more than 2,000 sq m of public open space including a village park and commercial facilities on the outskirts of Gilston, on the northern edge of the town of Harlow.

The joint venture is aiming to build infrastructure first by delivering two new schools and sustainable transport routes alongside a “mobility hub” with space for bikes, scooters and EV charging stations.

The wider masterplan for the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town project has proposed nearly 2,000 affordable homes, 29,000sq m of commercial space and some 660ha of open public space, restored historic parkland, meadows and woodland.

The scheme has been in development for nearly two decades with enabling works starting in 2024 and East Hertfordshire District Council awarding formal planning permission in January last year. Infrastructure works are currently underway.

Firms working on the scheme include landscape architect Grant Associates, Quod, Savills, Dentons, JLL and Shakespeare Martineau.

PfP has recently called on the government to utilise vacant council-owned sites for modular homes to address local authorities’ soaring spend on temporary accommodation.

Built off-site and installed in as little as 12 months, the provider said modular homes meet the same quality and environmental standards as traditional builds, last for at least 60 years and the construction process can be 30-50% faster. They can also be installed on small or underused plots of land, including disused car parks.

Larry Gold, chief executive for housing and communities at PfP, said: “Temporary accommodation has become a national crisis, with hundreds of thousands of families - including 176,000 children - growing up in hotel rooms and B&Bs without the stability or space they need to thrive.

“There is a clear opportunity and urgent need to do things differently and we want to use our experience to help government and councils end the homelessness and temporary accommodation crisis.”