The Plan That Threathens Everything
Chelmsford’s Local Plan risks flooding our fields, choking our roads, and burying villages in concrete.
Unrealistic Traffic Assumptions
“60% modal shift” is a fantasy. There’s no road upgrade, isolated from Chelmsford and no sustainable travel plan.
Irreversible Loss of Countryside
Hundreds of acres of green space and working farmland will be permanently destroyed.
Historic Villages Under Threat
Boreham, Sandon, Danbury, Little Baddow and the Chelmer Valley face irreversible harm
What Chelmsford City Council Is Really Proposing
Behind the glossy “Garden Community” branding lies a plan to concrete over hundreds of acres of farmland east of Chelmsford. The proposed Hammonds Farm site would transform rural Sandon and Little Baddow into an urban edge, flooding local roads, removing historic landscape buffers, and leaving a permanent scar across the Chelmer Valley.
A ‘Garden Community’ in Name Only
The Council claims Hammonds Farm will be a self-contained “Garden Community” — a utopia of homes, shops and schools. But there’s no credible evidence that the infrastructure will ever match the scale of development. The truth is the site is car-dependent by design — with no rail link (until the bridge and road is built up to Boreham), limited bus access, and no confirmed funding for sustainable transport. CCC’s own modelling assumes an unrealistic 60% “modal shift” — effectively a guess that people will stop using cars. The planned bridge into the Chelmer Valley “Country Park” would carve up green space rather than enhance it.
Planning by Numbers, Not by Need
Chelmsford claims this expansion is required to meet housing targets. The Council has already met its five-year housing supply. No justification has been provided for why this specific site was chosen over alternatives. Landowners stand to gain; the public stands to lose! Worse still, Chelmsford’s so-called consultation has been riddled with errors, omissions and a lack of meaningful cooperation with key statutory bodies.
This is not democratic planning. It’s a tick-box exercise.
Ignored Warnings, Disregarded Evidence
Numerous experts, councils and environmental organisations have raised red flags: Natural England was not properly engaged during the plan’s early stages, Maldon Town Council was never consulted at all. Traffic impacts on key junctions — including the Army and Navy and Danbury hill routes — are either underestimated or not modelled at all. Multiple Neighbourhood Plans — including Boreham, Sandon, Danbury and Little Baddow — are directly contradicted by this proposal. Chelmsford’s leadership is ignoring the evidence and hoping residents won’t notice.
We noticed.
What’s Really Driving This Plan?
Behind the scenes, developers are lining up for the financial rewards and the Council is eyeing up future income from Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payments. But what price do we pay?
- Generations of farmland lost forever.
- Wildlife corridors shattered
- Local democracy undermined
- Village identity erased
This plan isn’t about homes. It’s about money.
We Say No. And We’re Not Alone.
Our campaign is made up of ordinary residents, local councillors, farmers, families, and businesses who believe in sustainable growth, democratic planning, and protecting our countryside. We are not anti-housing. We are anti-bulldozer. We demand a Local Plan that:
- Respects Neighbourhood Plans
- Engages with statutory bodies from the start
- Plans infrastructure before development
- Protects heritage, landscape, and flood resilience
- Builds where it makes sense — not just where it makes money
Help Us Stop the Destruction
This plan isn’t about homes. It’s about money, mistakes, and missed warnings. We are standing up for our villages, our countryside, and our future — and we need your voice. Every message, every share, every donation counts.
Where is Hammonds Farm Proposal
