Beaulieu Park site in Chelmsford acquired by Hopkins Homes

East Anglia’s largest privately owned housebuilder, Hopkins Homes, has marked the beginning of its expansion into new areas by acquiring a 16-acre site in Chelmsford, Essex.

Beaulieu Park, just 30 miles from London, signals Hopkins Homes’ intent to grow its renowned collection of distinctive, aspirational homes outside of its traditional roots and reinforces the housebuilder’s position in the heart of Essex. It also becomes the first major flagship acquisition for Hopkins Homes since it was acquired by private equity firm Terra Firma in January 2022.

A planning application is expected to be submitted in the coming months to create approximately 260 exquisitely designed homes in a range of styles to suit all buyers, from one-bedroom apartments through to five-bedroom detached houses. Almost a third of the proposed homes will be much-needed affordable housing to support local people, made available through shared ownership and social rented schemes. It will also establish a small local retail centre at the heart of the community.

Lee Barnard, Managing Director of Hopkins Homes, said: “We are incredibly excited by this site, which gives us the perfect opportunity to deliver the homes we are renowned for beyond our core East Anglian roots.

“Our reputation has been built around creating distinction in everything that we do – taking the time and care to build beautiful, high-quality homes that complement their surroundings, creating places that people are proud to call home.

“East Anglia will remain at the very heart of our operation, and we are pleased our new partnership with Terra Firma is allowing us to embed our passion into new and wider areas across our region. Their ongoing support will enable the company to grow from strength to strength.”

The new development will be located at the vibrant new Beaulieu community – one of the most sought-after locations in Essex. The Beaulieu masterplan will create a 3,600-home community for Chelmsford that people will love for generations to come.

Provisional Beaulieu Park - Hopkins Homes

Guy Hands, Chairman and Founder of Terra Firma, added: “The acquisition of Beaulieu Park marks the start of an exciting new chapter and will drive the next phase of success for Hopkins Homes.

“We are proud of the Hopkins Homes team for building an enviable reputation by creating outstanding homes and communities that people love to live in. It is this commitment to quality that allows the business to move into new places and expand their success in exciting new areas of operation.”

The Woodbridge-based housebuilder has a significant track record for crafting homes of the highest quality as part of new large residential communities. The housebuilder has previously been appointed as the gateway developer at Alconbury Weald, Cambridgeshire and Kingsfleet at Thetford, Norfolk.

Hopkins Homes continues to be one of East Anglia’s largest privately owned employers, with more than 200 full-time employees across its construction, sales, and customer service teams, and creating and sustaining more than 1,500 jobs throughout the construction and supply chain each year. The housebuilder was named as one of the London Stock Exchange Group’s (LSEG) 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain in 2020, celebrating businesses that boost UK productivity, drive economic growth, and create jobs post-pandemic.

The housebuilder is currently building almost 1,000 much-needed new homes across 25 developments in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.

Further details on Beaulieu can be found on the website: www.beaulieu.uk.com