Chelmsford City Council is preparing to launch a consultation on the newest version of its development plan, which will allocate where thousands of extra homes over the next 19 years should be built. As part of its review of its local plan and following changes to government targets, Chelmsford will see a significant increase in its housing target from an existing average of 953 homes per year to 1,406 homes per year.
The pre-submission local plan sets out the council’s final policies and proposals to address future growth requirements up to 2041 – by which time more than 26,000 extra homes could have been built. The council has identified three key areas to help deliver its housing requirement.
Around 4,450 new homes are planned for ‘central and urban Chelmsford’. This includes a new housing site at Andrews Place, West of Rainsford Lane. The former Kay Metzeler site in central Chelmsford is no longer going to be redeveloped. However, the housing capacity for Meadows Shopping Centre will increase.
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North Chelmsford will have over 7,200 new homes over the planned period. South and east Chelmsford will also have around 4,400 new homes – mainly in a planned new garden community of 3,000 homes at Hammonds Farm.
The council is proposing to launch its consultation on February 4. A meeting on January 16 is set to discuss the plans and agree to publish the document for consultation.
Cllr Stephen Robinson, Leader, Chelmsford City Council, has said people must have their say. He said: “We need to build genuinely affordable homes, do more for our economy and create jobs for local people by proposing significant new land for employment. The Local Plan ensures Chelmsford has great places which are easily accessible and promote walking, cycling and public transport. We need to build communities and decent infrastructure, not just houses.”
A statement from the council said: “Work on the preparation of the review of the Chelmsford local plan to cover the period up to 2041 has reached the stage where the council can embark on the final technical public consultation.
“The consultation will ask whether the pre-submission local plan complies with the necessary legislation, the duty to cooperate and national planning policy (known as the soundness of the plan).
“Consultation on the pre-submission local plan and its accompanying pre-submission integrated impact assessment will be carried out in accordance with Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended) and is programmed to take place in early 2025 in accordance with the current timetable and the transitional arrangements for plan-making set out in the revised NPPF (December 2024). “