Chelmsford is a new City and is growing rapidly. We have outstanding schools, homes, shops and much going on. We need world class infrastructure to match this. As a former infrastructure financier, I am committed to campaigning for better infrastructure for Chelmsford.
Beaulieu Park Station is being built. Next will be the North East Bypass, Beaulieu Medical Centre and the new Army & Navy. All are complex projects but are on track. This vital infrastructure will help our local economy to grow.
Beaulieu Park Station & the North East Bypass
The development of Chelmsford’s second railway station at Beaulieu is a long-held aspiration to support growth in north east Chelmsford. Building is now underway and the station design includes a central passing loop and three platforms. Plans are also being progressed for the accompanying integrated walking, cycling and bus strategy which will be supplemented by approximately 1,450 parking spaces.
The new station will help to assist with pressures on the existing Chelmsford rail station, which currently services 8.5 million passenger trips a year. It is the busiest two platform station in the country outside of London.
£218 million funding for Beaulieu Park Station has been secured through the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund. This will be administered by Homes England and sits alongside contributions from the Beaulieu development and the South East Local Enterprise Partnership.
Beaulieu Park Station is a key part of the sustainable transport infrastructure needed to support housing development in Chelmsford. The new rail station, along with the new Chelmsford North East Bypass, will help enable an additional 10,500 new homes to be built in this part of Essex. It will support the delivery of infrastructure to foster long term sustainable housing growth.
Construction of the new station is a deeply complex project as it involves moving both the Eastbound and Westbound Main Line railway tracks, as well as all the signalling and infrastructure that are associated with this track. This is to allow for a passing loop, and three platforms, at the new station. The passing loop will provide additional capacity and improved network resilience, enabling more trains to run along the entire Great Eastern Main Line. It is my understanding that there will be trains that stop at both the new Beaulieu Station and the exiting Chelmsford station, as well as trains that just stop at one or the other.
You can find out more about Beaulieu Park Station and the Chelmsford North East Bypass here: Full steam ahead for new Chelmsford train station as construction begins | Essex County Council
Army and Navy Junction
Within my first year as Member of Parliament for Chelmsford, I had identified the Army and Navy as a key project and called for a Task Force to be set up to work on a long-term replacement.
The Task Force decided to proceed with the Hamburger style junction, as this is also the most likely option to reduce congestion in Chelmsford. The task force combines elected representatives from all parties in Chelmsford so it was good to have cross party backing.
Detailed Engineering, design and surveys have progressed on this new junction as the project moves into its final approved stages.
This is an expensive project. Essex County Council have agreed to contribute over £8M and Chelmsford City Council £4M, this requires a £68.75M contribution from the Government. The fully costed business plan is now with Ministers.
I will continue to press for these projects to be delivered at pace.
You can find more information on this here, www.essex.gov.uk/armyandnavy.
