Development name: Chelmsford Garden Community

Location: North-East Chelmsford

Size: 836 hectares

Developer: Countryside Zest & Homes England

Scheme type: Residential (10,000 homes)

Chelmsford Garden Community, when completed, will feature more than 10,000 homes aiming to be net-zero-carbon ready. The award-winning Beaulieu and Channels developments are the first places being built, with over 1,500 homes already completed.

Designed with landscaping at the forefront of the design, the development is set to become the greenest neighbourhood in Chelmsford, through its use of low-level planting along a central spine of the development, joint with wider street types to allow for central landscaping reserves along each residential side street. The landscaping along each residential street incorporates on-street visitor parking which works in tandem with the property garages to avoid car dominance in such a large development.

Cllr Stephen Robinson, Leader of Chelmsford City Council said,

“Addressing climate change is a key priority for Chelmsford City Council, demonstrated by our declaration of a Climate and Ecological Emergency. It is critical that new homes are built to the highest environmental standards and we hope that this exciting and innovative project will allow us to demonstrate how net zero carbon homes can be considered the norm in new developments.”

The overall development will feature works from Countryside Zest, Columbia Threadneedle, Channels, Hanson, and Ptarmigan Land and will feature the following in addition to the new homes:

• 45,000 sqm of employment floorspace
• A new country park
• Walking and cycling routes
• Expansion of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)
• Part of the Chelmsford North East Bypass
• A new Radial Distributer Road (RDR2)
• Neighbourhood centres with community spaces
• A second new secondary school
• Two further new primary schools
• Early years and childcare nursery provision
• New multi-functional green infrastructure
• Nine travelling show people plots