In 2012 Chelmsford became the first city in Essex – one of three towns to be awarded the coveted status as part of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Since then of course two more towns in the county have joined the club – Southend-on-Sea and most recently Colchester.

So how much has Chelmsford changed in the intervening decade? The prestige and investment that came from city status has undoubtedly enabled a new level of growth.

Along with the rejuvenation of key parts of the city centre – the shopping area around Bond Street, The Riverside Leisure Centre and Riverside Retail Park to name just a few – there has also been the arrival of new businesses such as John Lewis.

One area where we have seen some of the biggest change has been in the provision of new homes. Between 2011-2014 delivery was significantly below need, averaging just 311 homes per year. But over the past five years, net additional dwellings averaged 985 homes per year, well above the adopted local plan target of 805 homes.

Much of this delivery has been driven by three large edge-of-town-schemes – Beaulieu, Channels Village and St Luke’s Park in Wickford. But there have been some major urban developments too, such as Watson Heights, the redevelopment of the Marconi site and London House, near Essex cricket ground. 

However, the city’s planning committee cannot rest on its laurels. Our research has shown that in the 10 years since becoming a city house prices have risen by 70 per cent – outpacing the national average and stretching affordability.

By the end of 2021 the average house price in Chelmsford had hit £428,000 – making property within the city £33,000 more expensive than the Essex average. 

Steps are being taken to address this. The pipeline of new homes is growing strongly. Some 3,800 properties have full consent or are currently under construction, according to data from Glenigan, while a further 2,250 units are in earlier stages of the planning process. If even half of those were constructed in the next five years, it would represent roughly a doubling on Chelmsford’s delivery rate since becoming a city.

Growth is mostly likely to be focused around the northern edge of the city, supported by new infrastructure. A new station is set to be built at Beaulieu Park by 2025, providing more frequent links into London, and upgrades to the Great Eastern Mainline are expected to increase rail capacity. Funding has also been received from the Housing Infrastructure Fund to develop the North East Bypass. These improvements are expected to support the development of over 14,000 homes in the Chelmsford to Braintree corridor.

Another consequence of the squeeze on affordability has been the growth of the city’s rental market. Two purpose-built Build to Rent projects are already underway – a 466-unit scheme by Taylor Wimpey at Chelmer Waterside backed by major institutional investor Legal & General and Seven Capital’s Glebe Road scheme, which has planning permission for a further 197 units.

The end of the Help to Buy scheme in April next year – which since it began has supported roughly 20 per cent of Chelmsford’s new build sales – will likely increase demand for high quality rental stock further, improving the attractiveness of the city to institutional investors looking for consistent yields combined with steady capital growth.

The success of Chelmsford as a city has required innovative leadership, cooperation and an entrepreneurial spirit across all those involved in development. This has been very much in evidence in the last decade – but more will need to be done if issues around the growing unaffordability of homes are to be addressed. Not only will new sites for development have to be identified, but there will also need to be a mix of properties of all types and tenures to meet demand.

Further information

Contact James Firth or Andy Redman

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