Harlow's new bus station was retendered after the original contractor raised its price by £4.5m, the Leader told Full Council. Due now: Spring 2027.
Harlow’s new bus station had to be retendered after the original contractor put its price up by £4.5 million. That is what the Leader of Harlow Council told Full Council on 17 September. The minutes, published on Monday, put it on the record.
The explanation came in a two-sentence answer to a councillor’s follow-up question.
What was said
Councillor Tony Edwards asked when the new Sustainable Transport Hub on Terminus Street would be finished. The Leader, Councillor Dan Swords, gave the answer he has given before: the scheme “remains ahead of programme and within budget” and is “due to complete in Spring 2027”.
Councillor Edwards came back with a supplementary question:
“We were told in December 2024 that the temporary bus station will be in place for 18 months. Why are sticking to the pretence that the contract is ahead of time?”
The Leader replied:
“The council had reprocured the contract following an increase of £4.5 million by the original contractor. This brought the project back within budget and the project timeline was recast.”
(Full Council minutes, 17 September 2026)
So “ahead of programme” means ahead of the new programme, drawn up after the retender. The Leader did not say when the contract was retendered, which contract it was, or which firm raised its price. The minutes do not name one either, and we are not suggesting it was any particular firm.
How the timetable moved
The council’s own news releases set out the original plan, and it was much shorter.
- 20 March 2024. The council announced a contract with Morgan Sindall for demolition. It said demolition “will mark the start of an 18 months’ construction programme”. (Harlow Council)
- 8 May 2024. Demolition had started. (Harlow Council)
- 4 August 2025. The council announced that “major construction work” would start that month, “delivered by The Hill Group”. (Harlow Council)
- 18 June 2026. Planning permission for the temporary bus station at Post Office Road was extended from June 2026 to June 2027, under HW/FUL/26/00150.
Eighteen months from spring 2024 would have meant a finished bus station around autumn 2025. The main build did not start until August 2025. The date now given is Spring 2027.
The project managers’ contract is now in force
Four days after that meeting, the Leader signed a direct award of up to £1,170,000 to McBains Ltd, the consultants managing the bus station, Market Square and the Arts and Cultural Quarter. We reported on it last week. The signed report said the firm’s previous contract “was allowed to lapse without provision for either continuity of service provision or replacement”.
The call-in window closed on 28 September. The council’s decision record now shows the award effective from 29 September, so no councillor used it. (Decision 1262)
That report’s risk table rated financial risk as medium, citing “longer project timelines” and possible “further programme extensions”. The Leader’s answer at Full Council is the first explanation of where those longer timelines came from.
Also in the minutes: “officers are in dispute”
The same minutes record an exchange on the council’s relationship with its own staff. Councillor Kay Morrison asked a supplementary question:
“Recently I was told the council’s relationship with unions was healthy, but now we know Officers are in dispute with the council. What has gone wrong?”
The Leader’s recorded reply, in full: “Not appropriate for me to discuss in a public forum.”
Neither the council nor a union has published anything on the dispute that we could find. If either does, we will report it.
The minutes also record that Full Council designated Mike Curtis as the council’s Section 151 officer, the officer legally responsible for its finances, from 28 September. That item was taken in private.
What it means for you
- If you catch a bus in the town centre, the Post Office Road site is permitted until June 2027 and the stated finish is Spring 2027. Expect a second winter there.
- If you want to know what the £4.5 million was for, the minutes do not say, and we have not yet found a published decision on the retender. Your ward councillor can ask for one.
- If you want the answer on the record, Full Council questions from the public are published with written replies. The council’s meetings calendar lists the next meeting.
Town centre roadworks around the rebuild are on our roadworks and travel page, and planning decisions are tracked on our Harlow planning news page.
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