Nearly 3,000 new homes approved close to Chelmsford

19 December 2025

Matthew CritchellLocal Democracy reporter

News image — Chelmsford Garden Community is part of a 25-year development featuring 10,000 new homes, schools, cycleways and bus links

Chelmsford City Council An artist's impression of the proposed Chelmsford Garden Community shows pedestrianised streets. A cyclist heading into view. In the foreground is plant boxes and flowerbeds. To the left a young girl in a flower patterned dress is scooting out of shot. Behind her is a brown-haired man wearing a grey jacket and blue jeans walking his black dog. To the right people are gathered around a coffee shack. In the distance are blocks of detached houses and mature trees. — Chelmsford Garden Community is part of a 25-year development featuring 10,000 new homes, schools, cycleways and bus links

Nearly 3,000 homes are to be built on the edge of an Essex city after councillors gave the plans the green light.

Chelmsford City Council's planning committee approved plans for 2,750 homes split across various sites at Pratts Farm Lane, Little Waltham, and Beaulieu Parkway.

The homes form part of the Chelmsford Garden Community, a 25-year project to create four connected 'villages' which includes around 6,250 homes. The plans also include news schools, playgrounds, community centres and business areas, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Supporters said the decision marked a "big step forward" for the project and the first of the new homes and facilities could be built in 2026.

A consortium of three house-builders - Ptarmigan Land, Halley Developments, Countryside and L&Q - are set to work on the development.

A spokesman for Countryside and L&Q told planners the applications will deliver "much needed housing, employment space and community facilities" for Chelmsford.

"The plans also include swathes of green open space, paths, roads and public transport links, creating an area with a sense of community that feels pleasant and makes modern life as easy as possible," he said.

More than 16,000 new trees will be planted.

Most of the homes will be near a bus stop and all residents of the new neighbourhoods will get free bus passes for their first year.

A spokesman for Halley Developments told the meeting on Monday: "We recognise the level of responsibility that comes with this project.

"Chelmsford Garden Community is not just about housing, it's about building on previous success and learning lessons from the past positively and constructively to create thriving, inclusive and sustainable place to inspire generations to come."

Councillor Derek Drew-Smith, chairman of the new Chelmsford Garden Community Council, said: "I welcome this significant milestone for Chelmsford Garden Community and the clear commitment shown by all partners to delivering a development that is both ambitious and responsible".

Planners also approved the Northern Radial Distributor Road. The new route along the northern edge of the development will link Essex Regiment Way to the first section of the new Chelmsford North East Bypass, currently under construction.

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.