Engagement and consultation

View current and past consultations on the New Local Plan.

Colchester Submission Draft Local Plan (Regulation 19 consultation)

Submit your representation on the Publication Draft Local Plan here.

About the consultation

Colchester City Council is undertaking consultation on the Submission Draft Local Plan in accordance with Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.

The Local Plan is an important document which will guide development in Colchester up to 2043. It sets out the vision and strategy for growth, including where development will take place and policies to protect and enhance the environment.

This is the final version of the Plan that the Council intends to submit to the Secretary of State for independent examination.

Consultation dates

Consultation opens: Friday 28 August 2026 Consultation closes: Tuesday 13 October 2026 at 4pm

What you can comment on

At this stage, representations should relate to whether the Local Plan is:

· Legally compliant; and

· Sound, meaning it is:

o Positively prepared

o Justified

o Effective

o Consistent with national policy

All representations received will be submitted to the Secretary of State and considered as part of the independent examination. Watch a short video aiming to inform and encourage public participation in the consultation. (add link when video is ready)

How to take part

We strongly encourage all responses to be submitted through our online consultation portal which can be viewed here.

The portal allows you to:

· Comment directly on policies of the Plan

· Upload supporting documents

· Provide a summary of your comments

· Track your submission through your account

If you experience any difficulties using the portal, please contact: local.plan@colchester.gov.uk

View the documents

You can view the Submission Draft Local Plan, Policies Map, Sustainabilty Appraisal and Habitats Regulations Assessment and supporting evidence documents on the online consultation portal here. 

This includes:

· Colchester Submission Draft Local Plan and Policies Map

· Sustainability Appraisal (SA) report

· Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA)

Paper copies are available to view during normal opening hours at:

· Colchester Town Hall (9am – 5pm Monday – Friday)

· Colchester, Greenstead, Prettygate, Stanway, Tiptree, West Mersea and Wivenhoe libraries. For location and opening times view the Essex Library website here.

You can also view the proposed submission documents here:

Supporting evidence base documents can be found here.

What happens next

This is the final stage of consultation before the Local Plan is submitted to the Secretary of State. If you wish to participate in the Independent Examination, you need to submit a representation to this consultation. There will be further opportunities to participate during the examination process.

Following the consultation all representations will:

· Be made publicly available on the Council’s website and consultation portal

· Be submitted to the Secretary of State alongside the Local Plan

· Be considered as part of the independent examination

Privacy and your data

All comments will be published on our website and consultation portal in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK General Data Protection Regulation.

For further information about how your data is processed, please visit: www.colchester.gov.uk/privacy-policy/

 

The Statement of Representation Procedure document provides further details and can be viewed here. (pdf) (this will follow later today)

 

Need help?

If you have any questions about the consultation or how to respond, please contact the Planning Policy Team: local.plan@colchester.gov.uk

 

Local Plan stages

Preferred Options consultation

The Preferred Options (Regulation 18) consultation ran from 26 November 2025 to 14 January 2026.

This was the second phase of engagement on the new Colchester Local Plan. We received 3,331 representations from 1,222 respondents.

We are reviewing the comments received, gathering further evidence and preparing the next stage, known as the Submission Version Plan.

View the Preferred Options documents 

Issues and Options engagement

Issues and Options was the first phase of engagement on the new Local Plan and took place during 2023 and 2024.

The feedback received helped inform the Preferred Options Local Plan.

Read the Issues and Options engagement report (PDF, 2.30MB)

Issues and Options consultations

Read the Local Plan Engagement and Consultation Strategy (PDF, 206KB)

The Local Development Scheme sets out the timetable for preparing and adopting the new Local Plan. View the Local Development Scheme.

Get consultation updates

Register on the consultation portal to receive notifications about Local Plan engagement activities and consultations.

Register on the consultation portal