Current development plan

Thurrock Design Guide

Our Thurrock Design Guide is a collection of planning documents that will be used to improve the design quality of all new developments that need planning permission.

Design strategy

Our design strategy sets out the main design principles to be used by planning applicants when working on proposals for new developments in Thurrock. It includes how to assess the context of a site and gives specific guidance for:

  • urban centres transport hubs
  • residential neighbourhoods
  • commerce and industry
  • Lakeside
  • village and rural locations

Residential alterations and extensions

Our design guide gives advice to residents who wish to:

  • expand their home
  • alter their home
  • convert other buildings for residential use

Our design guide for residential alterations and extensions includes:

  • advice on good design process when planning and building an extension or alteration
  • context to consider depending on where a project is located in Thurrock
  • design principles for all residential alteration, extension and conversion projects
  • further guidance and standards for 10 common projects, such as rear extensions, roof alterations and outbuildings

Status of these documents

This strategy and guide are supplementary planning documents, supporting the policies and proposals in our Core Strategy Local Plan. They don't have the same weight as policies in a local plan but can be taken into account when deciding planning applications. The guide has replaced any content related to residential alterations and extensions in the annexes of our Borough Local Plan adopted in 1997.