Chelmsford North East Bypass

The planned new Chelmsford North East Bypass, together with the new Beaulieu Park Station, will provide important infrastructure to support planned housing and economic growth to the north of Chelmsford.

The transformational road and rail upgrade will bring long-awaited improvements to Chelmsford’s transport network and help relieve congestion on local roads in and around the city, enabling easier, more reliable and resilient journeys.

The bypass will also provide easier access to both the A12 and the new Beaulieu Park Station for people travelling from Braintree and surrounding areas, taking approximately 900 vehicles off city centre roads each morning.

Section 1A

Chelmsford North East Bypass will be delivered in phases.

The first section of the bypass (Section 1A) will connect with Beaulieu Parkway in the south to the future Chelmsford Garden Community.

It will provide access to both the new Beaulieu Park Station, which is currently under construction and due to open in 2025, and junction 19 of the A12 at Boreham Interchange via the new Beaulieu Parkway Bridge.

To the north, Section 1A of the bypass will join with a new east-west link road (Northern Radial Distributor Road), to be built by developers as part of the Chelmsford Garden Community.

The link road will connect the bypass to the A131 Essex Regiment Way at Wheelers Hill roundabout.

Next steps

Works to build the first phase of the Chelmsford North East Bypass are underway via a construction contract awarded at the end of last year by Essex County Council.

Following a tender process, Octavius Infrastructure Limited is building the first section of the bypass. Construction of Section 1A of the bypass is expected to be finished by Summer 2026.

Construction of the remainder of the bypass (Sections 1B and 2) will take place in due course in the future when alternative funding has been secured. We will continue to proactively seek funding for the remaining sections, including potential developer contributions.

Building the bypass in phases and working in conjunction with project partners means we can focus on having the infrastructure in place when it is needed.

Progress update

Together with our main works contractor Octavius Infrastructure, we are now on site and beginning work ahead of main construction of the first section (1A) of the Chelmsford North East Bypass.

CNEB Site Compound

This includes the construction of two culverts, which will pass under the new road and allow continued flow of the Boreham Brook tributary, and the main earthworks to support the new road. We have also built a pond access track and put up perimeter fencing along the highway boundary.

Creation of the upper site compound is now complete and we have moved to our new site offices. We have laid water pipes and connected to the mains for our site welfare facilities. This means no water deliveries are needed, so fewer lorries on local roads and less CO2 emissions. Our site offices are also connected to mains electricity, which avoids needing to use diesel generators.

Meanwhile, plans for the connection of section 1A of the bypass to the existing roundabout on the A131 Beaulieu Parkway are being finalised.

Previous site work saw the completion of topographical surveys and an ecological survey as well as a 2.5-hectare archaeological survey undertaken by Oxford Archaeology between October last year and January 2025.

The results of this demonstrated the site was used intensively during the Roman period, with the discovery of a Roman trackway, enclosures, paddocks and a cremation cemetery.

While delivering the Chelmsford North East Bypass, Octavius has committed to:

Engaging with residents by providing clear and up to date information to local communities
Improving the environment by minimising CO2 emissions and assessing any potential opportunities for biodiversity enhancement
Increasing sustainable employment with employment opportunities for local people
Supporting the growth of local businesses by spending money with local small and medium enterprises
Improving opportunities for young people by supporting local education providers and charities, offering industry talks, site visits and work placement

Advanced works

Previously, via Octavius, we successfully completed advanced works at Bulls Lodge Quarry, building a new multi-modal bridge north of Beaulieu Parkway which will ultimately span the new bypass.

The bridge will initially enable the continued operation of the mineral quarry, during construction and operation of the bypass. In the future, it will be modified to provide an east-west link across the bypass for all modes of transport, including pedestrians and cyclists. This will enable access to the new Chelmsford Garden Community and existing communities to the west of the bypass.

In addition, Octavius delivered a second package of the advanced works, excavating a new silt lagoon and infilling two existing lagoons close to the planned bypass.

Picture of new Beaulieu Parkway bridge — Side on view of completed bridge

Further information

We will continue to update this page regularly throughout the advanced enabling works, including publishing our contractor's regular newsletters. These can be found in the Newsletters section at the bottom of this page.

You can also subscribe to our wider Chelmsford North East Bypass email newsletter.

Please email any enquiries about the advanced works or Chelmsford North East Bypass project to CNEB@essexhighways.org.

Background

Given its importance to the regional economy, Chelmsford needs a transport network to match if it is to properly facilitate future development and economic growth.

As a result, Essex County Council, in partnership with Chelmsford City Council, and in collaboration with Network Rail, is behind schemes to deliver both a north east bypass of Chelmsford and a new railway station at Beaulieu.

The schemes will create important strategic road and rail links, providing the infrastructure needed to support planned housing and economic growth to the north of Chelmsford, notably Chelmsford Garden Community, which along with other strategic sites allocated in local plans, will deliver thousands of new homes, one million square feet of new business space, schools, quality open spaces and community facilities.

Housing Infrastructure Fund

The transformational road and rail upgrade is being delivered with more than £250million which Essex County Council has secured. This includes Government funding through Homes England's Housing Infrastructure Fund, with funds secured as a result of plans for the Chelmsford Garden Community and other local sites for new housing. It is also partly funded by developer contributions.

Essex County Council submitted a Housing Infrastructure Fund bid titled ‘Chelmsford North East Bypass and Beaulieu Railway Station’ for this project in March 2019.

This set out how investment into the bypass and the railway station would support the new development at Beaulieu to reach its full potential. It also demonstrated how the new bypass would help relieve congestion on local roads.

In August 2019, it was announced that the county council had been successful with its bid, receiving £218 million to take forward the plans, alongside £99million to take forward the A120-A133 Link Road and Rapid Transit System project.

You can find out more by viewing our bid summaries.

Chelmsford North East Bypass

A new north east bypass will create a missing link to the wider strategic network and help relieve traffic congestion on local roads.

The bypass was originally put forward in 2005. In 2008, the project was postponed because of insufficient funding, but the proposals were revisited and refreshed in 2015 following consultation with the Beaulieu Park developer and the public, resulting in minor changes to the proposed route.

In 2018, Chelmsford City Council consulted on its Local Plan, which included an updated safeguarded corridor for the proposed bypass.

In 2020, the Chelmsford Local Plan was formally adopted and Essex County Council held a public information event outlining the latest proposals for the Chelmsford North East Bypass.

A planning application for the proposed bypass was approved by Essex County Council's Development and Regulation Committee in April 2022 and the scheme is now progressing through illustrative design and procurement of a main works contractor for Section 1A.

Section 1A connects Beaulieu Park Station and the A12, in the south, with the future Chelmsford Garden Community to the north.

Section 1A is currently under construction with enabling works on site and further construction expected through until 2026.

Beaulieu Park Station

To find out more information about the new Beaulieu Park Station, which is currently under construction and will be the first new railway station on the Great Eastern Main Line in 100 years, please visit the Network Rail webpage.

What are the future phases of the Chelmsford North East Bypass scheme?

Following construction of Section 1A, the full bypass scheme will at a future date connect northwards to Deres Bridge and Great Leighs.

Once all phases are complete, the new 4.6km single carriageway bypass (Sections 1A and 1B) will run through Bulls Lodge Quarry and join a new roundabout on the existing A131 at Chatham Green, with a 1.2km stretch of the existing A131 between Chatham Green and Deres Bridge also widened to a dual carriageway as part of the scheme (Section 2).

A new segregated left turn lane will be created, connecting Main Road, Great Leighs, at Deres Bridge to the southbound carriageway of the A131.

The future phases of the CNEB (Sections 1B and 2) also include various walking, cycling, horse riding and bus improvements. This includes new segregated cycleways and footpaths on each side of the new dual carriageway on the A131 between Chatham Green and the Deres Bridge roundabout, and a new dedicated overpass on the A131 to provide a safe passage for walkers, cyclists, and horse riders. An improved pedestrian and cycle crossing is also planned on the southern arm of the Chatham Green roundabout.

Once complete, the bypass will provide a strategic link between Chelmsford, Braintree, London Stansted Airport and the wider area. It will also relieve congestion on local roads and enable existing routes into the city centre, such as Broomfield Road and Essex Regiment Way, to become sustainable transport corridors, encouraging safer, greener and healthier ways to travel.

The following video was created in 2020 and explains the background to the Chelmsford North East Bypass project, as well as outlining the proposed bypass route and highlighting key elements of the scheme. Please note that some design changes have been made, in consultation with land owners, since the video was published and are not reflected in the visualisations of scheme.

Design drawing showing the full bypass scheme route

First slide - Section 1A of the bypass will connect to the A131 Beaulieu Parkway via an existing roundabout, providing access to the new Beaulieu Park Station and junction 19 of the A12

Section 1A of the bypass will connect to the A131 Beaulieu Parkway via an existing roundabout, providing access to the new Beaulieu Park Station and junction 19 of the A12.