Affordable housing plans for Chelmsford
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Our newsCommitment to new housing as population grows
As the county town of Essex, Chelmsford is an incredibly popular place to live in. With excellent commuter links into the capital as well as a vibrant city centre, Chelmsford has much to offer its residents, so housing here comes at a price. The property market is thriving, with the average house price valued at £397,779 according to Zoopla. This represents a value growth of 19.11% over the past 5 years. For those that find these prices expensive, Chelmsford City Council is committed to delivering affordable housing to help narrow the gap between average earnings and the aspirations of becoming a property owner.
Broomfield hospital development
The housing development company, Bloor Homes has created plans to build 450 new homes on a site located north of Broomfield Hospital. The community development would include a neighbourhood centre, spectacular landscaping and access to open spaces for leisure. In line with delivering affordable housing across the district, Bloor Homes have been told that 35% of their new development must be created as affordable housing. Leader of Chelmsford City Council, Cllr Stephen Robinson explains that all housing developers in the area will be expected to commit to these targets in order to help solve the city’s current housing crisis. He states “I have made it clear and have spoken to a number of organisations, conferences and so on that we will hold developers to the 35 per cent affordable homes target and the other developer obligations on the community infrastructure levy and section 106.”
Commitment to the community
But affordable housing will not be the only benefit of this new development. Land will also be set aside for an early years and childcare nursery site to support the family demographic of the area. And as with all new developments, improvements to the local infrastructure will be of great benefit as traffic in the area increases. In this case, a new access road will be created off Blasford Hill on the B1008, as well as the building of a new link road through to Broomfield Hospital. Sustainable transport will also be promoted by including adequate pedestrian and cycling infrastructures to encourage residents to take advantage of the great outdoors.
Council’s local plan
Chelmsford City Council has been working on its plan to provide the city with an additional 14,000 homes by 2036. The Local Plan was given the greenlight back in June 2018, and it is expected that 2,500 of these new homes will be built in existing built-up areas whilst the remainder will be erected on green field sites such as the Broomfield development. As Chelmsford becomes ever more popular with local Essex residents as well as Londoners who are moving out from central London to explore what our magnificent county has to offer, the city is experiencing a competitive property market.
To secure a home here, get in touch with our friendly and professional Chelmsford estate agent team and we’ll be happy to show you around a range of affordable properties within your budget and answer any questions you may have about the local area.