Latimer, the development arm of Clarion Housing Group – the UK’s largest housing association – has submitted a landmark planning application for the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community, a major new settlement on the Essex border.
The ambitious scheme proposes 7,750 high-quality new homes, with at least 30% designated as affordable, including social rent, affordable rent, and shared ownership. It is designed as three distinct, walkable neighbourhoods shaped around public transport and active travel.
The masterplan includes up to four primary schools, one secondary school, mobility hubs, health facilities, and a civic common featuring cultural venues and a modern Guildhall. More than 50% of the site will be open space, retaining 30km of mature hedgerows and creating a 60-hectare country park.
The development is projected to generate more than 6,000 full-time jobs on-site, with a further 8,000 within easy commutable distance.
Latimer has assembled a pioneering consultant design team including Haworth Tompkins, Kjellander Sjöberg, Arup, and Colchester-based HAT Projects, championing regenerative design at scale. The climate-resilient scheme includes nature-based solutions for water drainage and flood mitigation, with homes designed to be net-zero in operation.
The hybrid planning submission covers both outline consent and detailed proposals for the initial phases, including over 800 homes, the first stage of a rapid transit system, and a public quarter providing community activity and local employment.
The plans follow extensive collaboration with Tendring District Council, Colchester City Council, and Essex County Council, alongside in-depth community engagement including a pioneering Youth Engagement Programme.
Clarion Housing Group will take lead responsibility for housing management, with sole responsibility for the affordable housing- illustrating a new delivery model for large-scale new settlements.
Richard Cook, Chief Development Officer at Clarion Housing Group, said: ‘This submission marks a major step forward in delivering a flagship new Garden Community for Tendring and Colchester, and a landmark moment for Clarion. Housing associations stepping into the role of master developer is nationally significant, as it demonstrates how organisations with a social purpose can create large-scale well-designed communities, expertly meet local housing need, and create lasting social and environmental value.
‘We would like to acknowledge and thank our project partners who have helped us get to this important milestone, including our Local Authority partners, Homes England, MHCLG and our design team. In this context, and as the government grapples with how to deliver new towns that are fully integrated, and deliverable, we hope that it will provide a valuable model of what is possible.’
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