Soon after Robert Halfon was elected the MP for Harlow in 2010 he campaigned passionately for Harlow to be granted Enterprise Zone status. In 2011, the then Chancellor George Osborne granted Harlow the flagship status meaning that local businesses in the zone could benefit from lower business rates, access to superfast broadband and streamlined planning permission to boost local infrastructure.
A decade on, Harlow’s Enterprise Zone on London Road is home to the UK’s biggest supercomputer, world-leading businesses such as Raytheon and Pearson, Europe’s largest cloud data bank with much more to come. All of this has only been made possible because the Government has invested £27.5 million into the area, which has resulted in hundreds of millions more being pumped in by private businesses.
The Zone has created hundreds of local jobs and created many training and apprenticeship opportunities for Harlow’s young people.
Commenting on the £27.5 million Government investment, Robert Halfon MP said: “I have worked hard to build an even better Harlow and secure more investment for our town. There is no better example of that than Harlow’s flagship Enterprise Zone which has attracted hundreds of millions of pounds of investment and created hundreds of jobs. I’m proud that Harlow is home to some of the world’s biggest data companies and I am delighted that even more are set to come.
“This has only been possible because of the confidence successive Conservative Governments have shown in Harlow - which has been backed up with £27.5 million of real money. All of this comes on top of our new hospital, 15 school building upgrades since 2015, over £20 million for Harlow College, our £23.7 Town Deal, £81 million new junction and much more.
“I will continue to work hard to secure more investment to build an even better Harlow and create high-skilled jobs and apprenticeships for our town.”
