Chelmsford Station / Station Square / Mill Yard

The purpose of the total project is to provide a package of improvements at the rail and bus gateway to Chelmsford in three distinct, but connected areas:

• Station Square;
• Chelmsford Station;
• Mill Yard.

Specifically, this project focuses on the third and final part of this package – Mill Yard. The other two elements are funded by other means (developer contributions and rail industry funds) and works are well underway. The Mill Yard part complements these works to the station, and outside on the south side, but the three parts are being progressed separately.

Project objectives

Overall, the project aims to encourage increased use of sustainable transport to facilitate housing and economic development in the city centre, while reducing congestion and associated carbon emissions. The specific objectives of the complete project are to:

1. Improve the quality of the station facilities and its environs (the gateway to Chelmsford), to regenerate the immediate area and enhance the image and economic prosperity of the city as a whole;
2. Provide improved circulation and capacity within the station – one of the busiest in the country
3. Improve linkages to the station, particularly by sustainable modes of transport, to reduce congestion and facilitate housing growth and economic development in the city centre:
   • deliver significant environmental enhancements to the public circulation space around the station for all modes of transport, including pedestrians and cyclists;
   • provide better integration with the adjacent bus station;
   • facilitate sustainable access between station buildings and the emerging university quarter in the north of the city centre, including Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), major employers and a new large residential neighbourhood on the former Marconi site;
   • Improve the health of Chelmsford residents by providing improved walking and cycling connections to the station.

Brief description

A) Station Square – The works to the Station will be complemented by improvements to the public realm around the rail and bus interchange to provide a higher quality environment through: improved public transport facilities; wider footways and a reduction in road space; higher quality paving; improved lighting; improved access (from the station building to the nearby bus stops, bus station, adjacent development and new cycle storage facilities); and an overall improved vista at this gateway to the city. Further details can be found here.

B) Chelmsford Station Redevelopment – New enlarged station frontage and ticket office, to include a new ticket hall with an open-plan counter, new toilets, improved customer information systems and additional retail units. The access to the London-bound platform in the main ticket hall is also being rebuilt in order to improve the space in the ticketing area and to extend the gate line. Construction of a new stair tower to the London-bound platform opposite the bus station, linked to the existing stair tower. Alongside improvements to the existing stair tower and secondary entrance, this will enable a better flow of people, especially at peak times, providing improved access to the bus station and significant improvements to access for the London-bound platform.

C) Mill Yard: Station Accessibility Improvements – Replacement of an existing tunnel (under a ramp to Mill Yard, a former goods yard) with a bridge, to open up a walking and cycling route between the station building and the emerging university quarter in the north of the city centre. The route will also improve the viability of the commercial premises on the new development, and provides a missing link in the cycleway network between the station and the north of the City.

£579m of investment to East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock

In total the SELEP Growth Deal with Government has brought £579m of investment to East Sussex, Essex, Kent, Medway, Southend and Thurrock. Over the lifetime of the Growth Deal (2015-2021) we aim to deliver 78,000 jobs and 29,000 homes across the SELEP area, with the Deal set to attract a further £960m of investment into the South East over the six year period.

Find out more here