Beaulieu Park Railway Station, Chelmsford

The delivery of a new railway station to support the delivery of 3,600 new homes in North East Chelmsford. The vision is for Beaulieu Station to be a new transport hub where passengers can complete journeys using sustainable modes of transport, and the proposals also include a bus interchange and substantial cycle parking. The £12m LGF investment sought for this project represents a contribution to the total cost of the project.  An application to the Housing Infrastructure Fund is currently being developed by Essex County Council, which will seek to secure the remaining funding required to allow delivery of the project.

Funding Approval

The project was considered by Accountability Board on 15th February 2019 and the decision was made to approve the award of £12m LGF funding to this project, subject to the following funding conditions being met:

• A Value for Money review being completed for the overall Project by the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), as part of the Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF), that meets the requirements of the value for money exemption 2 of the SELEP Assurance Framework;
• Receipt of evidence from Essex County Council that they have been awarded sufficient funding through the MHCLG’s Housing Infrastructure Fund and through funding contributions from Network Rail, to bridge the Project funding gap in full;
• Endorsement from the SELEP Strategic Board that the LGF can be retained against the Project beyond 31st March 2021.

If all three conditions are not met by December 2019, the £12m LGF allocation will be withdrawn from the project for reallocation to LGF3b pipeline projects.

Update on Project March 2021

• Endorsement from SELEP Strategic Board that LGF can be retained against the Project beyond 31 March 2021 was given at the Strategic Board meeting in January 2020
• The HIF has successfully been allocated by the MHCLG and an agreement signed between all parties.

At the 25 November 2022 Accountability Board meeting Essex County Council presented an update on project delivery following a raise in status to high risk.

At the 16 February 2024 Accountability Board an update was given which showed the project would be removed from a high risk status.

£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.

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