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Council Chelmsford's 2028 Council Merger Withdrawn by Government The government has withdrawn the plan to merge Chelmsford, Brentwood and Maldon into one council in 2028, and May 2027 elections will use existing boundaries. · 4 min read Chelmsford Diocese of Chelmsford picks ex-ambassador as chief executive Harriet Mathews, the first female British ambassador to Somalia, takes over in October at a diocese budgeting for an £869,000 deficit this year. · 7 min read Chelmsford Chelmsford Fireworks 2026: Only Marsh Farm Has a Date Marsh Farm has confirmed Saturday 7 November, one night only. Admirals Park and the racecourse have published nothing for 2026 and both pages still show last year. · 7 min read Chelmsford Chelmsford Christmas Lights Switch-On: No 2026 Date Yet The 2026 date has not been announced. The last three switch-ons were all Sundays in November, 2024 was cancelled by Storm Bert, and 12,000 people came in 2025. · 6 min read Chelmsford Enlightened Hylands 2026: 27 Nov to 2 Jan, From £12 Dates and prices are confirmed and tickets are on sale. Entry is the Writtle gate off Greenbury Way, not Hylands House, and the last slot is 8pm. · 5 min read Chelmsford Chelmsford Marathon 2026: 11 October, Entries From £38 Both races start at 9am in Central Park and entries close on 10 October. Around 436 places were still unsold in early September, and no road closures are published. · 5 min read Community South Woodham Ferrers Swim Gala: 40 Awards, Lessons Full Forty children finished an eight-week Club Links course at South Woodham Ferrers, awards presented by Olympic diver Sarah Barrow. Council lesson lists are full. · 4 min read What's On Museum of Chelmsford free weekend: vote on 20 treasures Free entry to the Museum of Chelmsford on 19 and 20 September, when you can vote on the 20-object shortlist that decides its new Top 10 Treasure Trail. · 6 min read Food hygiene Chelmsford food hygiene: 36 out of 36 rated 5 in August Every Chelmsford premises inspected in August scored 5. But 17 across the district sit below 3, and all ten of the worst were marked down on the same thing. · 7 min read Planning Chelmsford Garden Community Road Works Start 1 September Two footpaths north of Chelmsford close for six months from 1 September so the 1.55km road that unlocks 10,000 homes can be built. The order is the first dated proof it has started. · 10 min read Chelmsford City Racecourse Chelmsford racecourse: two more fixtures moved to Southwell Two September meetings have been moved to Southwell, almost five months after the last race at Great Leighs. July's rescue deal still has no racing licence. · 5 min read House prices Chelmsford house prices fall 1.2%, first drop in 21 months The average Chelmsford home is worth £383,103, down £4,565 on a year ago. Only 62 of 295 English districts fell, and five of them are in Essex. · 5 min read

Chelmsford has been the county town of Essex for a very long time and a city only since 2012. It sits where the Can meets the Chelmer, with Springfield, Great Baddow, Writtle, Galleywood and Broomfield around it, and it is the place most of the county’s administration is done from.

The Chelmsford Times covers the city and the towns near it. Witham and Maldon are in different districts, so the answer to a question about bins or planning depends on which side of a boundary you live, and we say which every time. What all of them have in common is a set of decisions published in registers and committee papers that hardly anyone reads. We read them and write down what they say, linking to the document each time.

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If we cannot show you the document, we do not print the claim.