The UK's new huge town with 7,500 homes and vehicle-free zones being planned
Around 800 homes and some key infrastructure are expected to be submitted for detailed planning in summer 2025.
Plans for a brand-new town in Essex featuring thousands of homes, schools, green space and even car-free zones are moving forward. The proposed development, known as the Tendring and Colchester Garden Community, would see over 7,500 homes built on land east of Colchester and near the University of Essex. It would also include a new dual carriageway, a rapid transit system, employment areas and more than a dozen education facilities.
According to EssexLive, the huge town will need at least one secondary school and four primary schools. Council documents say school entrances must be entirely traffic-free, with children walking or cycling along safe routes instead of being dropped off at the gate. Government guidance quoted in the plans says: “Vehicle-free ‘school zones’ must be provided around schools, with the area around the main pupil entrance entirely traffic-free, connected by safe and direct walking and cycling routes.”
It adds that schools should link with green spaces and promote health and wellbeing through access to nature and physical activity.
The site crosses the Colchester and Tendring council areas and is part of a long-term plan to provide housing, jobs and community infrastructure for the next 30 to 40 years.
According to Colchester City Council, the new town aims to “avoid housing developments that can overwhelm existing facilities” in other towns and villages.
Designs from architects Haworth Tompkins, who are working with Clarion Housing Group, reveal that the new garden community will be split into three neighbourhoods and delivered over 20 years.
Around 800 homes and some key infrastructure are expected to be submitted for detailed planning in summer 2025.
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The three neighbourhoods will be connected by a rapid transport system, which will serve as the spine of the community.
Along this route will be shops, medical centres, schools, cultural spaces and public areas designed to encourage walking and cycling.
According to Haworth Tompkins, the site will prioritise sustainability and biodiversity.
Development will focus on former farmland that has lost much of its ecological value, while existing hedgerows and wildlife corridors will be preserved and enhanced.
A joint committee from Colchester and Tendring councils is expected to meet on May 1 to discuss the next steps for the garden town plan.
