Thurrock Local Plan
All local planning authorities must prepare a Local Plan that sets out a planning framework for their area. It includes how much development should be permitted and how it should be distributed around the borough. By law, it must be used when deciding future planning applications.
The GOV.UK: National Planning Policy Framework says Local Plans must be reviewed at least every 5 years to check policies and update them if necessary.
Updating our policies
The new Local Plan for Thurrock will include policies on things like affordable housing, open spaces and town centres. It will also set out:
- policies for specific areas
- sites that could be developed for new uses
- sites that could be protected so their existing uses can continue.
Policies within the current development plan will continue to be used in decision-making until the new Local Plan for Thurrock is adopted. As work on the new Local Plan progresses, emerging policies could start to influence decisions on planning applications.
Latest News
Local Plan Call for Sites
The Council is asking landowners, developers and other organisations or individuals to identify land with the potential for future development and submit them to the Call for Sites as part of the Local Plan process.
For further information on the Call for Sites and/or to submit a site, please visit our Call for Sites page
Local Plan timetable
A new Local Development Scheme (LDS) was approved by Cabinet at its meeting on Wednesday 9 October 2024. The LDS sets out the timetable for producing the new Local Plan and other planning policy documents.
In March 2025, an administrative update was undertaken to the LDS, the timetable for preparing the new Local Plan remains unchanged.
A copy of the latest LDS is available here:
Thurrock Local Plan - New Local Plan for Thurrock
A 3 month Local Plan review was conducted in 2024, and a final report produced in July 2024. This report and the appendix can be viewed below.
Local Plan Initial Proposals
From 18 December 2023 to 19 February 2024, we carried out public consultations on the following 3 documents.
We prepared a Local Plan Initial Proposals document that set out how we think the borough could grow and what we think the new Local Plan should look like. Documents that helped us prepare the proposals are in our evidence to support the Local Plan.
For more about this consultation and to view the Local Plan Initial Proposals document, go to Have my say: Local Plan Initial Proposals.
We have carried out an integrated impact assessment (IIA) on the Local Plan Initial Proposals – further details are on our sustainability appraisals page.
For more about this consultation, go to Have my say: Local Plan Initial Proposals IIA.
We have also produced a draft Thurrock Design Charter. It is the first step towards a Design Code setting out design requirements and quality standards for all new development. Have your say below.
For more about this consultation, go to Have my say: Thurrock Design Charter.
Between 20 January and 12 February 2024 we held 'Your Place, Your Voice' drop-in events at towns and villages across the borough, where our team answered questions about the proposals.
If you would like to be kept informed about the progress of the Local Plan and other policy documents, you should register to join our Local Plan consultation database.