Truth Behind the Plan: 1. Floodplain Fiasco – Why Hammonds Farm Is a Dangerous Mistake
Chelmsford City Council is proposing to allocate Hammonds Farm, to the east of Chelmsford, as a so-called ‘Garden Community’ delivering 3,000 homes alongside a large business park. But beneath the glossy marketing lies a critical and unresolved issue: flood risk.
What is the flood risk?
The proposed development site sits between two key watercourses — the River Chelmer and Sandon Brook — and is bordered by a network of irrigation reservoirs serving nearby farmland. Significant parts of the site lie within Flood Zones 2 and 3, meaning they are already considered at medium to high risk of flooding from rivers, according to the Environment Agency’s official flood maps.
Even more concerning, areas of the site are identified as being at high residual risk from reservoir flooding — a rare but catastrophic scenario where the failure of a nearby reservoir embankment could release a surge of water across the site without warning. In such an event, floodwaters could reach homes, roads, schools and businesses in a matter of minutes, posing an immediate threat to life.
Why is this a major problem?
One of only two proposed access roads into Hammonds Farm would cross the River Chelmer via a new bridge built on land designated as Flood Zone 3. In a severe flood event, this access route could become impassable — cutting off residents, schoolchildren, and workers from emergency services and vital infrastructure.
In short, this is not just a theoretical risk. It is a real-world safety concern with implications for emergency response, evacuation, and public wellbeing.
What does national planning policy say?
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is clear: development in flood-prone areas should only proceed if it passes the Exception Test — a two-part requirement that ensures development is both justified and safe:
- The wider sustainability benefits of the development must clearly outweigh the flood risk; and
- The site must be shown to be safe for its lifetime, accounting for climate change and future flood events.
In the case of Hammonds Farm, neither part of the Exception Test appears to have been satisfied. While a flood risk assessment has been submitted, key areas of the site — including the central plateau most likely to be developed — remain unassessed. No detailed proposals have been brought forward to demonstrate how flood risk will be mitigated, either through sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) or other infrastructure.
In fact, the Local Plan assumes that the developer will “sort it out later”. But planning law is clear: flood safety must be demonstrated before a site is allocated, not after.
Wider concerns – climate change and cumulative risk
Climate change is projected to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events across the UK. The Met Office UKCP18 projections warn of heavier rainfall, flash flooding, and rising river levels — meaning today’s ‘medium risk’ sites could become tomorrow’s disaster zones.
Development at Hammonds Farm would also increase hard surfacing and run-off, raising the flood risk downstream in Sandon, Great Baddow, Chelmer Village, and surrounding areas already vulnerable to flooding.
Yet Chelmsford City Council has published no evidence of any strategic flood mitigation for these communities. Nor have they provided modelling that accounts for the cumulative impact of building 3,000 homes in this flood-prone basin.
So why is it still in the Plan?
The uncomfortable truth is this: despite mounting evidence of flood risk and incomplete assessments, Chelmsford City Council appears determined to push this allocation through — possibly because it ticks a political box, not a planning one.
But a planning system that gambles with people’s lives is not fit for purpose.
What can you do?
Although the official consultation has now closed, the fight is far from over. The plan must still go through public examination, where an independent Inspector will review the evidence — or lack of it.
We’re preparing for that stage now, with the help of legal experts, planning consultants, and local campaigners. But we can’t do it alone. We need funding, volunteers, and above all: your voice.
✅ Please share this article.
✅ Talk to your neighbours.
✅ Donate if you can.
This is more than a planning issue. It’s a public safety issue — and together, we can stop Hammonds Farm before it becomes a future flood disaster.
Leave a Reply