Parking spaces will be gradually phased out at Chelmsford Garden Village as self-driving cars become the norm.
The 10,000 home development will have parking spaces near the houses in its early phases, but these will be gradually converted to communal gardens once the ability to summon cars from remote locations becomes commonplace.
The first phase of the development, Beaulieu, with 4,350 homes, will have a railway station and rapid bus service, and is being designed as a “15-minute neighbourhood” with amenities in easy walking and cycling distance to cut short car journeys.
Building of the next 5,500 homes will begin in the mid-2020s.
Andrew Taylor, planning director at Beaulieu’s main developer, Countryside Properties, stressed that the garden village was at the master planning stage but said pushing cars to its edge would “free up” the design of neighbourhoods.
