KEY DETAILS
Beaulieu
Location: Chelmsford, Essex
Homes: 3,600
Partners: L&Q, The Land Trust and Chelmsford City Council
Project Duration: 20 years
Gross Development Value: £1.15b
Land: Greenfield
Beaulieu is one of Vistry's major developments and flagship sites.
Beaulieu spans 610 acres in Chelmsford, and will provide 3,600 new homes designed for high-quality living. At its core is Beaulieu Square, a vibrant community hub offering a variety of shops, cafes, a dentist, veterinary services, a day nursery, an education centre, Beaulieu Community Centre, Beaulieu Park School, and Beaulieu Health Centre. New homes at Beaulieu are surrounded by 176 acres of formal and informal green space, including parks, landscaped gardens, sports facilities, and community gardens. The project began in 1999 with Beaulieu Park, providing 550 homes, 25% of which were affordable, plus parks and open spaces. Completed in 2007, this set the foundation for the larger Beaulieu masterplan, approved in 2013. Construction began in 2014, with the first housing phase launching in June 2015. Today, approximately 1,900 homes are occupied.
Housing Delivery and Affordable Homes
Beaulieu will ultimately deliver 3,600 homes of which 27% will be affordable via our JV Partner, L&Q. Vistry is building and selling homes on this development to our open market customers through our Countryside Homes retail brand alongside Cala Homes, Bellway Homes and Hopkins Homes, offering varying house types to suit all affordability levels from one-bedroom apartments to six -bedroom houses. Anchor Hanover have also completed 82 retirement apartments at Beaulieu for private sale.
We loved where we were, we just needed more space. The area is beautiful. It’s so well set up for families, with lots of green space, new schools, shops and even a vets. We knew we didn’t want to go far but couldn’t believe our luck when we found out about the new shared ownership houses at The Arbour.
Beaulieu resident
In addition to the 27% affordable homes across the site as part of our Section 106 obligations, our Joint Venture with L&Q has enabled us to deliver a further 255 shared ownership homes at Beaulieu in a bespoke development known as The Arbour.
The first new homes at Beaulieu were launched in June 2015 and as of March 2025 approximately 1,900 have been built and occupied.
At L&Q our mission is to create homes and neighbourhoods everyone can be proud of, so we are definitely thrilled to deliver on that mission and have Beaulieu officially recognised as a“‘Great Neighbourhood’ by the Academy of Urbanism. Beaulieu is so much more than a ‘scheme’ or a ‘development’ – it exemplifies our vision for an exceptional, integrated neighbourhood, with new homes supported by extensive infrastructure and community amenities. A vision shared with our development partner Countryside and the local authority and one which we will continue to deliver on, as the neighbourhood continues to grow.”
Development and Project Management Director, L&Q
Community Facilities
Vistry is committed to creating places where people love to live. Residents at Beaulieu have access to new schools, health services, shops, parks for sport and recreation and Beaulieu’s Community Centre which serves as a social hub where the local community gather to celebrate, learn, worship and connect. Examples of community facilities include:
- Beaulieu Square Neighbourhood Centre has been fully occupied since 2018, offering shops, community, health, and educational facilities.
- The front square has eight retail units, including Sainsbury’s Local and Costa Coffee (opened November 2017), along with local businesses like Spring Lodge Veterinary Group and Beaulieu Dental Practice.
- The rear square includes Beaulieu Community Centre, Bright Horizon’s Day Nursery, and Kip McGrath Education Centre (opened Spring 2018), focusing on education and located next to Beaulieu Park School.
- Beaulieu Park School, Essex County Council’s first all-through school, opened in 2018, offering state-of-the-art facilities for performing arts, sports, technology, and science, including specialist laboratories.
- The school provides community access to its dance studio, sports hall, and outdoor sports pitches outside school hours.
- A second net-zero primary school opened in September 2024, doubling the number of primary school places at Beaulieu Park School from 420 to 840.
Additionally, the Beaulieu area is benefiting from major transport improvements. The Beaulieu Parkway relief road and bridge, opened in October 2023, provide easier access to the A12 and reduce local congestion, while also linking to the new Beaulieu Park railway station, set to open by the end of 2025—the first new station on the Great Eastern Main Line in over 100 years. A new bus link and a network of pedestrian and cycle routes are also being developed to ensure easy, car-free access to the station.
Jobs and Local Business
The creation of Beaulieu has provided jobs for local people and Beaulieu residents as well as opportunities for local independent businesses to thrive. Many are employed in the various shops, cafes, health, community and educational establishments located within Beaulieu Square.
Beaulieu is a place that combines social and economic viability. Since opening in 2017 the Beaulieu Square Neighbourhood Centre has retained full occupancy with some tenants looking to open additional outlets within Beaulieu.
A second neighbourhood centre is currently at the preliminary design stage next to the new train station and will include additional retail opportunities, café/bar, flexible employment floorspace as well as a hotel and day nursery and it is envisaged the Station Hub will act as a new gateway to Beaulieu and Chelmsford for residents and visitors alike.
Commitment to Nature and Sustainability
Vistry is committed to homes for nature, a plan to help wildlife thrive in the places we build. Beaulieu's extensive and varied landscape provision has been created to provide a biodiverse habitat.
This development has:
- Homes equipped with flow restrictors, low-capacity toilets, energy-efficient lighting, and airtight insulation to reduce carbon emissions and running costs.
- September 2024: Essex's first fully net-zero primary school opened at Beaulieu, targeting low energy consumption of 65 kWh/m² per annum.
- The school uses PV panels, air source heat pumps, and a highly insulated timber frame to minimize energy use and delivery impact.
- December 2024: Beaulieu Health Centre completed, BREEAM Excellent, designed to be Net Zero with solar panels and smart management systems.
- Beaulieu provides 176 acres of public open space ranging from estate parkland, meadows, formal gardens, informal heath areas, parks, community gardens, community allotments, formal sports provision and play areas- all connected to the housing areas via a network of primary and secondary footpaths, cycle routes and bridleways.
- Preservation of ancient hedges alongside a connected lattice of wildlife corridors has supported new populations of badgers, brown hare, barn owls, skylarks, cuckoo, reptiles and bats.
- 1,600 new trees and 30 acres of woodland enhance biodiversity.
- The Chase Park and Gardens offer formal and organic planting areas, along with a pétanque rink, play area, and sensory garden.
- 40-hectare Great Park has been transformed from arable farmland, reinstating into a historical estate parkland with acres of biodiverse meadows, home to Muntjac and Roe deer, brown hares and kestrel.
- The parks and open spaces at Beaulieu have been awarded a coveted Green Flag Award for the past three consecutive years.