William De Ferrers Chetwood Centre Gandalfs Ride South Woodham Ferrers Chelmsford Essex CM3 5WX Data via plota.co.uk

Proposal

Demolition of the former Chetwood Primary School and the construction of a two-storey SEND School including PV panels, MUGA and sports pitch with associated community facilities, outdoor play areas, car parking area, landscaping and associated works Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

Received
13 Aug 2026
Approved
4 Sept 2026

Approved on 4 Sept 2026 · Last checked 9 Sept 2026

Site constraints 2

Also on the record
Inside the South Woodham Ferrers built-up area; the 1970s provisional farmland map had this area as grade 3, but it predates the buildings here and the current map does not class it as farmland.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 11 September 2026. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

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Important details

Council
Chelmsford
Postcode
CM3 5WX
Received
13 Aug 2026
Validated
13 Aug 2026
Decision date
4 Sept 2026

How this decision compares

Decided in 22 days from validation, 33 days faster than Chelmsford's median of 55 for demolitions. Approved, as 82% of demolitions here are.

66%decided within 8 weeks
82%approved
84decided in the last year

Plota live figures for demolitions decided by Chelmsford in the last twelve months, from validation. Chelmsford decision record →

Public comments

No public comments yet.

Last counted 9 Sept 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Chelmsford
Planning Authority Score
7.4/10
Good
#45 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Householder decisions

Chelmsford is one of the fastest councils in England for householder decisions, ranking #23 out of 296. Only 21% of applications have the time limit extended, well below the 41% national average - the council usually decides on time. Householder applications are slightly more likely to be approved here (90%) than the national average (90%).

Among the fastest councils in England
for householder decisions
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Chelmsford decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
87%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #167 of 296
90%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #188 of 296
84%
Decided in 8 weeks
Above avg (63%) #23 of 296
21%
Extended time limit
Below avg (41%) #19 of 296
76%
Minor dwellings approved
164 decided (1-9 homes)
88%
Major dwellings approved
8 decided (10+ homes)
79%
Change of use approved
52 decided
1,304
Total decisions
168 refused in the year to March 2026