Planning

What is ‘Planning’?

Planning is about the management of competing uses for space in our towns and in the countryside and making places that are valued and have identity.

Rochford District Council is the Local Planning Authority for the area, meaning that it is responsible for considering planning applications for new development in the District, for taking appropriate action where planning permission has not been granted for a project, and for setting the policy framework against which planning applications are judged.

Planning Applications

The planning applications team deals with planning applications and planning appeals, and provides advice and guidance on your development proposals. A Duty Planning Officer is available to provide advice and answer questions about planning procedures and processes and to comment on draft proposals.

A Duty Planning Officer will be available at the following times: 

Monday       08.30 – 13.00
Tuesday      08.30 – 13.00

Wednesday 13.00 – 17.30

Thursday     08.30 – 13.00
Friday         08.30 – 13.00

Outside of these hours a member of Customer Service Team may be able to assist you with your planning enquiry including directing you to information held on our website.

Please note that applications for the development of facilities for waste or minerals are dealt with by Essex County Council, but if you are not sure whether your proposal falls into one of these categories, we can advise.

Do I need Planning Permission?

All the information you need for both household and business work is available on the Planning Portal - the government's online planning and building control resource. Visit the following pages on the Planning Portal website to find out more:

Pre-Application Advice

Rochford District Council is committed to providing an efficient and effective planning service, which meets government performance targets. We recognise the value of pre-application discussions and consider this to be an important aspect of the planning process.

Major Residential Planning Applications

Planning Enforcement

The Planning Enforcement team investigates and takes action against any building works or activities that do not have planning permission. The intention is to ensure that building works or activities which damage the appearance and character of the district and/or impact adversely on the lives of our residents are controlled, as well as ensuring that development schemes are implemented as intended in the planning consent.

Planning Policy

The Policy team prepares the policies and guidance against which new development in our district is assessed. The team is also responsible for providing advice on historic buildings and conservation areas.

The Rochford District Replacement Local Plan, adopted in 2006, remains one of the key policy documents, but is gradually being replaced by a new suite of development plan documents, called collectively, the Local Development Framework. The most important policy document is the Rochford Core Strategy.

Building Control

Once planning permission has been granted, this team works to ensure that the safety, health and welfare of the public is maintained when the new buildings are constructed. The team also deals with dangerous structures.