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 (complete)
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 (complete)
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 have 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 are undertaking 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.
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.