From PIP Leader and CPBC Deputy Leader Warren Gibson 
On 30 November 2022 the Council took the decision to prepare a new local plan, The Castle Point Plan. This followed the unanimous decision of Council to withdraw the Castle Point Local Plan 2018 to 2033 on 15 June 2022. 
As the Chair of the Castle Point Plan Board established to bring all parties together to foster cross party support, it seems appropriate that I provide an update to Council on progress. 
I also want to look at the impact of withdrawing the plan and how we are managing the risks of that withdrawal. 
Firstly, I would like to thank all members of the Castle Point Plan Board for their input into work to date. We established the Board to build consensus and whilst we may have our disagreements the board is a forum for those to be aired and properly discussed. 
I would also like to say thank you to our officers for their advice, candidness and drive. Remember that they sat and watched us withdraw a plan that they 2 had tirelessly worked on, so it is a real credit that Amanda Parrott and her team have been able to provide such leadership. 
We have four key objectives for the plan: 
1. Have a plan based on our robust housing needs assessment. 
2. Have a plan that identifies and prioritises brownfield and urban sites. 
3. Have a plan that protects the green belt. 
4. Have a plan that the community wants. 
I am pleased to say that we have recently completed the work on the needs assessment, and I can advise the Council that our locally assessed need is 100 per annum homes less that the standard methodology that the government use. We are confident in our approach and that it is sound. The needs report will be published shortly. 
In preparing the needs assessment the consultants, ORS, interviewed just over 500 local residents on what their needs were. The standard methodology is merely an algorithm, which is detached from the realities of need. I am pleased that the government has followed our lead and decided that local assessments are the way forward. 
We are not against development in the borough. We have a statutory and moral obligation to ensure that there are enough homes. But we want to identify what that need is with our local communities rather than imposing on them. 
The second objective was a brownfield and urban first approach. I am pleased to advise the Council that we employed an AI company to trawl all the urban areas and identify hundreds of sites that met certain criteria and could be developed or redeveloped. 
The initial phase of this work has been completed and officers are in the process of contacting the landowners of the sites identified to see whether they have any plans for development, or open their eyes to the potential, and test what the development potential is. 
This will tell us in the most comprehensive fashion imaginable just what the maximum capacity is for our urban areas. This is not the final piece however, and after this phase we will need to test what the impacts will be on infrastructure, traffic demands and the character of our towns, but we said that we would explore everything like never before and that is what we have done. 
Once we fully understand the urban capacity, then we look at whether we need land elsewhere. Our objective remains to protect the green belt. So over the coming months we will look at how our need can be met in full and in a way that is sound and delivers the right homes for the right people in the right places, with infrastructure and builds quality places. It is only through these robust assessments will the Council be able to protect the green belt. 
Finally, we are engaging local residents, businesses and partners at the earliest opportunity to ensure that the plan delivers what people want. Unfortunately,  many people do not feel that they have their say on the future of where they live. That leads to mistrust in plan making and mistrust in the Council. We are addressing this by giving a greater say to the people who live and work here in what the future of the borough should be and the issues that the plan should address. 

Last updated: 2 February 2024

Work is underway on the Castle Point Plan. The Castle Point Plan will guide development in Castle Point up until 2050. It will provide a framework to inform decision making, with local communities having a strong voice in determining what will happen where they live.

The agreed timetable for the preparation of the Castle Point Plan is set out below. Details are published within the approved  Local Development Scheme January 2024 [pdf] 265KB

If you would like to be kept informed of the progress of the Castle Point Plan please email CPPlan@castlepoint.gov.uk to be added to our mailing list. 

Castle Point Plan Timetable
•    Issues Identification     January 2023 - August 2023     4 - 6 months engagement on issues with partners, the community, local businesses and other stakeholders. The Initial Engagement Outcomes Report 2023 [pdf] 4MB  has the key outcomes from this engagement. 
•    Options Development     September 2023 - June 2024     Feedback on how the Council is addressing the issues raised. Some informal engagement may occur.
•    Developing the Plan     June 2024 – December 2024     2- 3 months Options Engagement with partners, the community, local businesses and other stakeholders. (Formal regulation 18)
•    Publication     January 2025 – March 2025     Formal consultation with partners, the community, local businesses and other stakeholders (Formal regulation 19)
•    Submission     April 2025     
•    Examination     June 2025 – December 2025  (Estimated, dependent on Examiner)     
•    Adoption     March 2026  (Estimated, dependent on Examiner)