Have your say on the Castle Point Plan
What is the Castle Point Plan?
A priority for the Council is creating a bright and prosperous future for Castle Point. Key to this is planning how our borough will develop in the coming decades. We must ensure we have the right housing, infrastructure, green spaces and services to meet residents needs as we change and grow. To this end, we are developing the Castle Point Plan.
When complete, the Castle Point Plan will act as a framework to inform planning decisions and guide development in the borough over the next 20 years.
Phases in preparing the Castle Point Plan
Issues Identification (March to August 2023)
We undertook engagement on the issues that should be addressed through the Castle Point Plan from March to August 2023. We received around 1,500 responses to the engagement and met around 200 residents out and about in the community. Alongside engagement work we also undertook studies and assessments that helped us understand the need for development and the role the places and spaces within the borough play in meeting people's needs.
Issues and Options (July to September 2024)
Having listened to the initial engagement and reviewed the evidence base work undertaken in the issues identification stage we identified the key issues we need to address through the plan and some options for addressing those issues. From July to September 2024 we engaged with residents, partner organisations and other stakeholders to ensure we were heading in the right direction and to find out which options they preferred.
Regulation 19 Draft Plan (August to September 2025)
We used the responses to the Issues and Options Engagement, along with evidence about development needs, the environment, transport and infrastructure capacity to draft the Castle Point Plan. We undertook consultation on the Regulation 19 Draft Castle Point Plan from August to September 2025. Following this consultation, the Council will take the decision as to whether to proceed to the independent examination of the Plan by the Planning Inspectorate in the winter of 2025.
Next Steps
The consultation responses received to the Castle Point Plan Regulation 19 consultation are being validated and incorporated into a consultation statement that will be submitted to the Secretary of State for examination in public.
Examination
Once the plan has been submitted to the Secretary of State for examination in public, the timetable will be set out by the Planning Inspector/s appointed to examine the plan.
The Planning Inspector/s will issue questions which the Council and stakeholders will be invited to answer in advance of hearing sessions. At the hearing sessions the Council and stakeholders will be invited to share their views on the plan and discuss outstanding issues.
In all cases where Planning Inspectors have found plans sound, it has been with modifications. There will be consultation on any modifications before the Castle Point Plan can be adopted.
The Planning Inspector/s will provide a report setting out their findings and the modifications needed for the plan to be adopted.
Adoption
It is anticipated that, subject to the plan being found sound, it will be adopted later in 2026. This is a decision of the Council.
Once adopted, the Castle Point Plan will replace the 1998 Local Plan, and will be used for the determination of planning applications from that point forward.
Closed engagements and consultations
Castle Point Plan - Issues & Options Consultation
What is the Castle Point Plan? The Castle Point Plan will set out the policies and proposals for the how the borough will develop over the next 20 years. The plan will define what the needs of residents are including: The types of industrial and commercial spaces required. Infrastructure requirements such as roads, shops, and healthcare services. What green space and outdoor amenities should be protected and, where...
Castle Point Plan - Your Community, Your Views
The Council is talking and listening to communities across Castle Point to ensure residents’ views are central to shaping the borough in the coming decades. Understanding what people value and would like to see improve in their area, will be at the heart of a plan to guide development up to 2050. Once complete the Castle Point Plan will act as a framework to help inform planning decisions and the Council has pledged t o give the communities in Castle...
Habitats Regulations Assessment of the Castle Point Plan (Regulation 19 Draft)
# This consultation has now closed # In preparing the Castle Point Plan the Council has ensured that the proposals it sets out will not cause harm to the integrity of Habitats Sites. Habitats Sites are those sites which are designated under the Habitats Regulations, and locally include the Benfleet and Southend Marshes Special Protection Area. The Habitats Regulations Assessment identifies the Habitats Sites that may be impacted by proposal in the Castle Point Plan, their...
Evidence Base
Find out more about the evidence base we've developed to support the development of the Castle Point Plan.