Harlow

Harlow District
	Shown within Essex
Geography
Status:	District
Admin. County:	Essex
Area: - Total	Ranked 337th 30.54 kmē
Region:	East of England
Admin. HQ:	Harlow
ONS code:	22UJ
Demographics
Population: - Total (2005 est.) - Density	Ranked 299th 89,700 2,548 / kmē
Ethnicity:	94.9% White 1.6% S.Asian
Politics
Harlow District Council http://www.harlow.gov.uk/
Leadership:	Alternative - Sec.31
Control:
MP:	Bill Rammell

Harlow is a local government district and New town in Essex, United Kingdom. It was developed around the old villages of Harlow, Great Parndon, Latton, Little Parndon and Netteswell from a masterplan drawn up in 1947 by Sir Frederick Gibberd .

It is renowned for having Britain's first pedestrian precinct, in the town centre and Britain's first Tower block, The Lawn, constructed in 1951, now a Grade II listed building. Many of the original new town buildings have now been removed due to "Concrete cancer". The original town centre is undergoing considerable improvement to its shops and restaurants.

Harlow has a population of 80,000, although this may increase significantly if plans to expand into the Green belt go ahead. Harlow Town F.C. play in the Isthmian League First Division. There are plans to redevelop the town's sporting facilities.

Its MP is Bill Rammell (Labour), who was reelected on 5th May 2005 with a reduced majority of 97.

There is evidence of ancient occupation in the area. Axe heads made about 6000BC have been found at Parndon, and there is a Roman mosaic floor in the Temple Meads area.

The name appears to derive from the Saxon here meaning army and hlaw meaning hill that was the meeting point of the local Saxon tribe. The village was noted later in Magna Carta and developed as a typical rural area.

See The Victorian History of Essex and The History of Harlow by Linley H Bateman.

Politics

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Bill Rammell	Labour	16,453	41.4
Robert Halfon	Conservative	16,356	41.2
Lorna Spenceley	Liberal Democrat	5002	12.6
John Felgate	UKIP	981	2.5
Tony Bennett	Veritas	941	2.4
Turnout: 62.6%	Majority: 0.2% (97)

Due to the very close result three recounts were made resulting in the final result not being declared until the morning of Saturday 7th of May.

The current composition of the town council is as follows:

Conservatives	13 seats
Labour	11 seats
Lib Dem	9 seats

Although a plurality of council seats are held by the Conservatives, the council's joint leaders are Kevin Brooks (Labour) and Chris Millington (Lib Dem). The council's chief executive is Malcolm Morley.

Districts of England - East of England
Babergh | Basildon | Bedford | Braintree | Breckland | Brentwood | Broadland | Broxbourne | Cambridge | Castle Point | Chelmsford | Colchester | Dacorum | East Cambridgeshire | East Hertfordshire | Epping Forest | Fenland | Forest Heath | Great Yarmouth | Harlow | Hertsmere | Huntingdonshire | Ipswich | King's Lynn and West Norfolk | Luton | Maldon | Mid Bedfordshire | Mid Suffolk | North Hertfordshire | North Norfolk | Norwich | Peterborough | Rochford | St Albans | St Edmundsbury | South Bedfordshire | South Cambridgeshire | Southend-on-Sea | South Norfolk | Stevenage | Suffolk Coastal | Tendring | Three Rivers | Thurrock | Uttlesford | Watford | Waveney | Welwyn Hatfield
Counties with multiple districts: Bedfordshire - Cambridgeshire - Essex - Hertfordshire - Norfolk - Suffolk