Castle Point Plan Latest News - Castle Point Borough Council

Last Updated: 11 September 2026

11 September 2026 - Following the conclusion of the Initial Hearings a number of documents have been published at section 17 of the Examination Library:

A news update has been published as the first stage of the Castle Point Plan examination concludes

3 September 2026 - The Inspectors have published a final Programme and Agenda available at section 14 of the Examination Library for the Initial Examination Hearing Sessions being held on the 8 to 10 September, with Friday 11 September being held in reserve in case of overrun.

A news update has been published on the Castle Point Plan Examination Hearings to Begin

These sessions are available to watch online on our Youtube channel. Each Hearing Session is listed below:

5 August 2026 - Additional post-hearing documents have been added to the Examination Library at section 13.

These are:

republication of the Sustainability Appraisal of Green Belt Development Option Sites in site order
a Statement of Common Ground with Historic England dated July 2026
a Housing Position Update Note
an Addendum to the SLAA addressing an omission in reporting.

3 August 2026 - The Hearing Statements received in relation to the hearing sessions in September have been published on the Examination Library under section 16. A news update has been published providing a detailed reasoning of housing numbers with Planning Inspectorate.

20 July 2026 - The Inspectors have published an updated draft programme for the hearing sessions in September. This is available to view on the Examination Library under section 14. See our news article about the examination in public hearing programme update.

6 July 2026 - The Inspectors have published a draft programme for the hearing sessions in September. This is available to view on the Examination Library under section 14. See our news article about the Draft Examination in public hearing programme being published.

3 July 2026 - We have issued our response to the Technical Questions the inspectors issued on the 19th June with a covering letter. These are available on the Examination Library under section 15. See our news article explaining that our comprehensive response is a demonstration of evidence-based approach to Castle Point Plan.

19 June 2026 - The inspectors have issued:

These documents are available to view on the Examination Library under section 14. See our news article about fighting for the right plan for Castle Point.

11 May 2026 - The Inspectors have issued an Initial Note, this is available to view on the Examination Library under section 14. See our news article on the update on the Castle Point Plan examination.

11 May 2026 - Minutes from the Advisory visit held in July 2024 and minutes from the February 2025 Advisory visit with the Planning Inspectorate have been added to the Examination Library at section 13.

20 April 2026 - The Inspectors will shortly issue a letter which will set out the next steps in the examination process.

20 February 2026 - In accordance with section 20(4) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 Inspector M Worden (BA (Hons), Dip, TP, MRTPI) and Inspector C Carpenter (BA, MA, MRTPI) have been appointed to hold an independent examination of the Castle Point Local Plan.

31 January 2026 - The Castle Point Plan has been submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination on 31st January 2026 under Regulation 22 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning)(England) Regulations 2012 (as amended).