Local Plan - Latest news and updates

The Local Plan Consultation has launched - and it's your chance to influence the future of Basildon Borough.

Why is your input so important? Because it will help shape the strategic direction of our borough, ensuring it thrives for generations to come.

Thank you for being an integral part of Basildon's journey forward.

Have your say - Have Your Say Today - Basildon Local Plan - Commonplace

Basildon Borough Council Draft Local Plan Consent Form (Word doc, 471 KB)

The following in person events have also been scheduled which you are welcome attend, no reservation is required:

• Billericay Town hall, Monday 2^nd December 5.00-8.00pm
• Nevendon Centre, Tuesday 3^rd December, 5:00-8:00pm

Further consultation events are also being scheduled, information will be published once available on our Consultation page here: Planning Consultations - Basildon

In September 2024, Noak Bridge Parish Council submitted the Noak Bridge Neighbourhood Plan to Basildon Borough Council. The Noak Bridge Neighbourhood Plan will go to Cabinet on 5^th December 2024 to then recommend to full Council for public consultation in January 2025. For more information please see: Noak Bridge Neighbourhood Area - Basildon

The Policy Scrutiny Committee met on 15 August 2024 to review and scrutinise some of  the emerging draft strategic policies proposed for inclusion in the Draft New Local Plan. To find out more visit: Basildon Council - Agenda for Policy Scrutiny Committee on Thursday, 15th August, 2024, 7.00 p.m. (basildonmeetings.info). The next stage is the Regulation 18: Draft Local Plan consultation, scheduled for November 2024.

A new Green Belt Study and Level 1 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment have been published which can be viewed here: Evidence Base - Basildon.

Biodiversity Net Gain

A new biodiversity net gain advice note for applicants is available here: Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) - Basildon

HELAA

An interactive map providing information on the sites submitted for the 2022 and 2023 HELAA, is available here: Call For Sites 2022 and 2023 - Basildon

The Issues and Options consultation closed back in September 2023 and since that time the Planning Strategy and Implementation Team at Basildon Council have been busy reviewing all the comments received during the consultation. 

Full coverage of the responses received are set out in the Statement of Consultation considered by Cabinet on 20 March 2024.  To find out more visit: 

Basildon Council - Agenda for Cabinet on Wednesday, 20th March, 2024, 6.00 p.m. (basildonmeetings.info)

The next stage of the local plan is the Draft Local Plan consultation scheduled for Winter 2024.

Basildon Borough Council has revised its Local Development Scheme (LDS).

The LDS is the Council's project plan and timetable for preparing a Development Plan for Basildon Borough.

The revised LDS sets out the following timescales.

The full LDS can be viewed here: Basildon Council - Local Development Scheme (LDS) 2024 - 2026 (PDF, 1 MB)

The Basildon Retail and Leisure Study and Agricultural Land Classifications Topic Paper have been updated. These documents can be viewed here: Evidence Base

The Planning Strategy and Implementation Team have reviewed all comments that were received during the recent Issues and Options consultation.

The findings of the Issues and Options consultation will be reported to Prosperity Scrutiny Committee on 1 February and Cabinet on 14 March.

Basildon Council received a letter from DLUHC regarding intervention in the local plan on 19 December 2023. The letter from DHLUC, and our response to this letter are available here:

Basildon Intervention Letter (PDF, 119 KB)

Letter to Secretary of State Michael Gove - 12.01.24 (PDF, 366 KB)

As part of the Local Plan process, we recently conducted a Regulation 18 Issues and Options Consultation which ran for ten weeks from Tuesday 27 June 2023 to Tuesday 5 September 2023.

We are currently analysing all comments that were received during the consultation and will report to Cabinet on the Consultation findings in early 2024.

In the meantime, we are holding two online sessions to present an initial overview of respondents' demographic characteristics and contribution sentiments that were received during the consultation.  This will provide a flavour of who took part in the consultation and a high-level overview of how they felt about the different themes.

We will also use this opportunity to provide an update on next steps and to discuss how best to engage with you and the wider community as we continue on our journey to develop a new Local Plan.

The two sessions will be held on 16 November 2023, at 10:00-11:00 and 19:00-20:00 via MS Teams - these sessions are for residents of Basildon Borough only.

If you would like to take part, please email ResidentsFocusGroup@basildon.gov.uk stating which session you would like to attend.

The Basildon Borough Local Plan Issues and Options Consultation has now closed. You can continue to view the Consultation at Community Forum - Basildon Borough Local Plan - Commonplace but you can no longer make comments.

We will be analysing the results and using them to inform the development of our new Draft Local Plan.

We will report to Cabinet on the Consultation findings in early 2024.

This has been the first conversation with our communities and other interested parties, and we will continue to engage and consult throughout the development of the new Local Plan for the borough

The council has today, launched the Basildon Borough Local Plan Issues and Options Consultation. This is our first conversation with communities as part of the development of a new Local Plan for the borough. It explores a wide range of topics, including housing, employment, transportation, infrastructure, and environmental sustainability.

The consultation will be open to the public for ten weeks from 9am on Tuesday 27 June 2023 to 5pm on Tuesday 5 September 2023. The best way to make your comments is via our dedicated consultation platform at Community Forum - Basildon Borough Local Plan - Commonplace.

For more information, please visit www.basildon.gov.uk/issuesandoptions.

On 25 May 2023, the council approved the Basildon Borough Local Plan Issues and Options Document for public consultation. Consequently, we will be launching the Issues and Options Consultation on 27 June 2023 for a period of 10 weeks.

We have launched our new online consultation platform ahead of the consultation and are inviting members of the public to register their interest. The registration will allow people to respond to Local Plan consultations and keep them updated on the progress of the new Local Plan.  You can register your email address for updates here:

Community Forum - Basildon Borough Local Plan - Commonplace.

The Local Plan Issues and Options Consultation was due to be considered by Full Council on 23 March 2023. However, this agenda item has been deferred for consideration at a meeting to be scheduled after the local elections in May 2023.

The Issues and Options consultation remains scheduled to commence in late June 2023.

The Issues and Options (I&O) Document and Consultation Planning Document (CPD) were recommended for approval by Cabinet on 9 February 2023 and due to be considered by Full Council on 23 March 2023 for approval. The I&O document addresses the long-term vision of the new Local Plan, the key issues and broad spatial options. The CPD relates to the council's approach to resident and stakeholder engagement. These documents were supported by an Addendum to the council's Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) to reflect the changes that have impacted the SCI's consultation standards since the third revision was adopted in October 2020.

An Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) is also being prepared, to assess the sustainability, health, and equality performance of the I&O document and will be published alongside the I&O document for public consultation.

Residents and stakeholders will have the opportunity have their say during the I&O Consultation which is programmed to commence in June 2023.

The emerging local plan evidence base library is being progressed and can be viewed here: Evidence Base - Basildon

Basildon Council held a Call for Sites 2022 which ran from Wednesday 19 October to Wednesday 14 December 2022. The Call for Sites 2022 has now closed and submissions received during this period will now be assessed for the annual Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) 2022 and Brownfield Land Register (BLR) 2022. This work is expected to be completed in early 2023 and will feed into the evidence base for the new local plan. Submission for the annual HELAA/BLR 2023 can now be made. For more information, visit HELAA - Submit a New Site - Basildon.

The Regulation 18 Issues and Options consultation is expected to take place from June 2023 for a period of 6 weeks.

The Council will consider entering into a Planning Performance Agreement (PPA) with land promoters wishing to discuss future options for their site in the context of the progression of the local plan. Further details of PPA's are available here: Planning Services - Basildon

At its meeting on 17 November 2022, the Council adopted the Local Development Scheme (LDS) 2022 - 2027 as the timetable for preparing the Local Plan. This will see a Regulation 18 Issues and Options consultation take place in the second quarter of 2023, representing the first formal step towards preparing a new Local Plan.

The full LDS is available to view here: Timetable and Consultation Standards - Basildon.

The Local Development Scheme (LDS) was approved by Cabinet on 22 September 2022 and has been referred to Full Council for adoption. The LDS will be considered at Full Council on 17 November 2022.

The 'Call for Sites' has also been approved by Cabinet. The Call for Sites will be publicised to enable interested parties to come forward with sites they are interested in developing. New sites can still be submitted to the Council at any time for an annual review through the Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) process. Existing sites do not need to be resubmitted unless the boundary or land ownership/agent information has changed. For more information, visit HELAA - Submit a New Site - Basildon.

The Cabinet Meeting of 8 September 2022 which included a report on the Local Development Scheme (LDS) was cancelled.

The LDS will now be reported to Cabinet for approval on 22 September 2022.

Basildon Council is in the process of preparing the Local Development Scheme (LDS). The LDS is the timetable for producing the Local Plan and will include information explaining when it is likely people can expect to get involved in the plan preparation process, including consultation stages.

The LDS is due to be reported to the Cabinet for approval on 8 September 2022.

Following the decision of Full Council on 3 March 2022 to withdraw the Basildon Borough Revised Publication Local Plan 2014 - 2034, the council is in the process of preparing a programme of work to prepare a new Local Plan for the borough. 

This will be reported to the next available Strategic Planning and Infrastructure (SPI) Committee, to be held after the local elections in the summer. 

This report will feed into the development of a new Local Development Scheme for adoption by the Council shortly after being approved by SPI.

At a meeting held on Thursday 3 March 2022, the Council resolved to withdraw the Basildon Borough Local Plan from examination.

The council's letter to the Inspector is available here: 

Basildon Council - Local Plan - Letter to withdraw - 4 March 2022 (PDF, 129 KB)

The council's notice of withdrawal is available here:

Basildon Council - Local Plan - Notice of withdrawal of the Local Plan - 4 March 2022 (Word doc, 13 KB) 

A statement from the Leader of the Council is available here:

In the news: Statement from Council Leader following withdrawal of Local Plan