Gateway House – Chelmsford

NEW HOMES FOR CHELMSFORD

Learn more about our plans to build 181 homes for key workers and young professionals in Chelmsford City centre.

There is a desperate need for more housing in Chelmsford City.

Local people are being priced out of the area. The average monthly rent in Chelmsford is £1,261 – a 43% increase in the last nine years.

There are 458 local residents in temporary accommodation. The number of local residents on the Council’s housing waiting list has doubled since 2021.

Our plans

CGIs showing what the new homes could look like.

Highgate Capital is looking to transform the back office of the former Debenhams site into a vibrant shared living space with a cinema, gym, spa, podcast studio, games room, workspace, and a public café, in the heart of Chelmsford.

The plans will provide 181 homes, including 18 wheelchair-accessible homes, and cycle spaces, providing a sustainable lifestyle close to shops, public transport, parks, and employment.

The homes are ideally suited for key workers and young professionals, giving local people an opportunity to get a home in the area.

The homes will be fully furnished with lots of high-quality shared communal spaces and all bills are included.

For an enjoyable and safe waterside walkway, the riverside will be enhanced with a new public space and café, benefiting the wider community.

This project aims to meet Chelmsford’s increasing housing needs and set a new standard for sustainable living, helping the City achieve its climate goals.

Some of the resident facilities will be accessible to the local community such as the co-working space.

The site

The site is in the centre of Chelmsford and is the office/delivery site of the former Debenhams on Bond Street. It is adjacent to the river and a short walk from Chelmsford Station.

The main high street facing part of the former Debenhams is owned by The Range, not Highgate Capital.

About us

Highgate Capital in partnership with Loom Coliving transform vacant and neglected sites to provide much needed homes that become an integral part of the local community.

Key benefits

Provides much needed shared living homes for key workers and young professionals, helping people to stay in the area.

Provides a wide range of services for occupying residents, and a new cafe and public space for the wider community to enjoy.

Establishes a vibrant new open space which provides surveillance of the River walkway and Bond Street to help reduce anti-social behaviour and crime locally.

Promotes the vitality of Chelmsford High Street as a prime retail centre, and boosts the local economy.

Enhances urban greenery and biodiversity in the City centre.

Provides ground floor space for local community groups to use.

Local job creation will be targeted at producing opportunities for local people and we will work with Chelmsford City Council to support the pathways into employment.