Issue 4, 18th - 24th September, 2026

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Welcome to issue 4 of The Colchester, Tendring & Braintree Briefing. Each week it reports council decisions, planning applications, spending, jobs and tenders, and public consultations across Colchester City Council, Tendring District Council and Braintree District Council.

THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE

• ⚠️ Have Your Say — Colchester's Regulation 19 Local Plan consultation closes 13 October. Tendring's closes 19 October. Braintree's opened on 23 September and closes at 5pm on 6 November.
• ⚠️ Coming Up — Tendring's Cabinet meets on 25 September and its Planning Committee on 29 September, with up to 30 homes at Elmstead on the agenda. Braintree's Cabinet meets on 28 September.
• In the Chamber — Braintree's Full Council approved its Submission Draft Local Plan for consultation on 21 September.
• Planning Watch — Colchester's Planning Committee approved three warehouses and a change of use at Fairfields Farm, Wormingford, by ten votes to one.
• Planning Watch — an outline application for up to 180 homes at Foots Farm, Thorpe Road, Clacton, was validated. Tendring refused 12 bungalows south of Thorpe Hall Gardens, Thorpe-le-Soken.
• Your Money — Colchester agreed a partnership with Payment Plan to recover Council Tax and other debts, with net additional recoveries estimated at £200,000 to £440,000 a year.
• The Countdown — no outcome of the government's review of reorganisation had been published as of 24 September.

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

£3.679m

The debt that Colchester City Council's enforcement agents returned to it as uncollected in 2025/26, across 4,861 cases. The figure comes from the officer report behind the council's decision to use Payment Plan, a third-party service offering online repayment arrangements for these and other cases. See Your Money.

Source: Colchester City Council — Payment Plan: a partnership for improved recovery of Local Authority debt, decision record

IN THE CHAMBER

BRAINTREE FULL COUNCIL APPROVES SUBMISSION DRAFT LOCAL PLAN FOR CONSULTATION (Full Council — Local Plan)

At an extraordinary meeting on 21 September, Braintree's Full Council approved the Submission Draft Local Plan for publication and consultation. The council's statement records that the plan sets out how growth could be planned across the district up to 2043, including homes, jobs, infrastructure, environmental protections and community facilities. The council's Local Plan page records a government housing target of 17,460 homes over the life of the plan.

The Regulation 19 consultation opened on 23 September. The plan went to the meeting with an amendment pack and an addendum report. Minutes of the meeting are due to be approved at Full Council on 26 October. See Have Your Say for how to respond.

Sources: Braintree District Council — news release, 21 September 2026 · Extraordinary Full Council, 21 September 2026 — meeting page

TENDRING SCRUTINY COMMITTEE MINUTES RECORD WASTE CONTRACT ROLLOUT (Committee — scrutiny enquiry)

Minutes of Tendring's Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee of 15 September were published on 23 September. The committee received an update on the waste collection and street cleaning contract awarded to Veolia Environmental Services, which began on 1 April 2026. The minutes record:

• 238 seasonal litter bins placed along seafront areas in April, emptied twice daily and due to stay until the end of September
• 1,400 food waste caddies delivered to street-level homes not offered food waste collection under the previous contract
• a new collection service compliant with Simpler Recycling starting on 1 October, with about 900 residents changing their collection day
• an additional green recycling box for all street-level households, with 70,000 due to be delivered by mid-September

The committee also noted its work programme, with a provisional date of 5 October for its Temporary Accommodation enquiry day.

Source: Tendring District Council — Resources and Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee, 15 September 2026, minutes

TENDRING LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE DECISIONS (Committee — taxi licensing)

Minutes of Tendring's Miscellaneous Licensing Sub-Committee of 16 September were published on 23 September. The public minutes record that the sub-committee, sitting in private:

• suspended a hackney carriage and private hire driver's licence for four months
• granted a hackney carriage and private hire driver's licence, subject to outstanding documents
• deferred two licence reviews so that the licence holders could attend

Two of those matters and a renewal application are listed for the sub-committee's next meeting on 30 September. Individuals are not named in the public record.

Source: Tendring District Council — Miscellaneous Licensing Sub-Committee, 16 September 2026, minutes

TENDRING OFFICER AND LEADER DECISIONS (Delegated decisions)

• Carry forwards. The Leader's decision of 11 September approving revenue carry forwards of £12.423m from 2025/26 is now shown with the status "Recommendations Approved", the call-in period having ended. (decision record)
• Outside body. The Leader made an appointment to the St Osyth Priory and Parish Trust on 22 September, subject to call-in. (issue record)

TENDRING GIVES NOTICE OF SEVEN FORTHCOMING DECISIONS (Forward notice)

Between 17 and 23 September Tendring published notice of these proposed decisions:

• Award of a community housing fund grant — key decision, expenditure of £100,000 or more, by the Leader, due 26 October
• Housing Competency and Conduct Policy — key decision, all wards, Cabinet, due 23 October
• Adoption of the St Osyth and the Mistley/Manningtree Conservation Area Management Plans — Cabinet, due 11 December
• Transfer of the Columbine Centre, Walton-on-the-Naze, to Frinton & Walton Town Council — key decision, Cabinet, due 19 February 2027
• Transfer of community assets to Brightlingsea Town Council — key decision, Cabinet, due 19 February 2027
• Review of the Assets Management Framework — Cabinet, due 19 February 2027
• Adoption of a refreshed IT Strategy — Cabinet, due 19 March 2027

Source: Tendring District Council — What's New, 17–24 September 2026

COLCHESTER PUBLISHES NEW FORWARD PLAN (Forward Plan — 1 October 2026 to 31 January 2027)

Colchester's Forward Plan of Key Decisions now covers 1 October 2026 to 31 January 2027. Alongside the items for Cabinet on 21 October reported in our last issue, it lists:

• 21 October, Cabinet — Social Care Capital Projects, and an extension and refresh of actions in the Strategic Plan Delivery Plan (in private)
• 2 December, Cabinet — capital investment at Leisure World for essential and invest-to-save works (in private)
• December — Housing Revenue Account fees and charges for 2027–28, and the sale of 1, 2, 3/4, 5 and 10 Grange Way under the Asset Disposals Programme for 30 Commerce Way (in private)
• 27 January 2027, Cabinet — the 2027/28 Final Budget Strategy and Medium Term Financial Strategy, and the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan

Contract decisions listed in the plan are under Jobs & Tenders.

Source: Colchester City Council — Forward Plan of Key Decisions

COLCHESTER HOUSING ENFORCEMENT UPHELD AT TRIBUNAL (Council statement — private sector housing)

On 18 September Colchester published details of enforcement action by its Private Sector Housing Team. The statement records that:

• a First-tier Tribunal upheld an improvement notice served on the landlord of a house in multiple occupation at 98 George Williams Way, agreeing that the council had correctly identified a Category 2 fire hazard
• the required works include a fire blanket, the inspection and upgrading of fire doors, and a Grade A LD2 fire detection and alarm system, and the Tribunal upheld the council's £645 charge for serving the notice
• Anchor Housing was issued with a £10,000 civil penalty notice on 12 June for partially failing to comply with an improvement notice requiring drainage works
• Peabody Housing Association was issued with a £13,600 civil penalty notice on 24 July for failing to provide an Electrical Installation Condition Report when requested

See How It Works.

Source: Colchester City Council — news release, 18 September 2026

PLANNING WATCH

This section covers planning applications validated and decided in the two most recent complete portal weeks, 7–20 September 2026. The week of 7 to 13 September was covered in our last issue for Colchester and Tendring and is not repeated here, except where an application's outcome has changed. Everything else below is from 14–20 September 2026. Committee items are reported by meeting date. Planning runs a few days behind the rest of this briefing because the councils' planning registers publish in whole weeks.

Comments on an application are normally accepted for 21 days from the date it is publicised. Each district's full register follows its round-ups, and each reference links to that application's own page on the council's register: Colchester, Tendring, Braintree. Every link is checked before publication. A council may later restructure its website and break a link that worked when this was sent; this is rare and outside our control.

Coverage note — Braintree. Braintree's planning register again showed a security verification page throughout the collection period, so no application list was available from it. Braintree's validated and decided applications for 7–20 September are therefore not listed in this issue, and the week of 7 to 13 September, held over from our last issue, remains outstanding. Minutes of Braintree's Planning Committee of 15 September have not yet been published. This is a gap in this issue's coverage. It does not mean Braintree was quiet.

Coverage note — Tendring. Tendring's weekly schedule of delegated decisions for the week ending 18 September was published in a readable form, including the parish-by-parish "no determination" rows. Fifteen parishes had no decisions that week, among them Lawford, Manningtree, Mistley and Ramsey & Parkeston. Some discharges of conditions decided that week appear on the council's register but not on the schedule; their outcomes are taken from each application's own page. Tree works applications are not listed, in line with this briefing's standing scope.

TENDRING — FULL ENTRIES

UP TO 180 HOMES AT FOOTS FARM, THORPE ROAD, CLACTON (Outline — up to 180 dwellings, validated)

An outline application for up to 180 dwellings on land at Foots Farm, Thorpe Road, Clacton-on-Sea, was validated on 15 September (26/01450/OUT). All matters are reserved except the points of access onto Thorpe Road. The application includes open space, landscaping and infrastructure.

Source: Tendring District Council planning register — 26/01450/OUT

35 HOMES ON THE HORSE FIELD, FRINTON ROAD, THORPE-LE-SOKEN (Full — 35 dwellings, validated)

An application to build 35 residential units, with hard and soft landscaping, on the site east of Lifehouse Spa known as the Horse Field, Frinton Road, Thorpe-le-Soken, was validated on 14 September (26/01410/FUL).

Source: Tendring District Council planning register — 26/01410/FUL

12 BUNGALOWS SOUTH OF THORPE HALL GARDENS REFUSED (Full — 12 dwellings, refused)

Burfoot Homes Ltd's application for 12 detached single-storey dwellings and associated infrastructure on the site south of Thorpe Hall Gardens, Thorpe-le-Soken, was refused on 14 September (26/00281/FUL). The application was decided under delegated powers; no committee report was published.

Source: Tendring District Council — Applications Determined, week ending 18 September 2026

WORKS APPROVED AT THE LANDERMERE CENTRE, CLACTON HOSPITAL (Full — NHS Trust, approved)

Essex Partnership University NHS Trust was granted permission on 17 September for works at the Landermere Centre mental health ward, Clacton and District Hospital, Tower Road (26/01026/FUL). The works are the removal of a fence to create a new entrance and canopy, new air handling equipment and enclosure, selected replacement external windows and doors, and internal alterations.

Source: Tendring District Council — Applications Determined, week ending 18 September 2026

CERTIFICATE GRANTED FOR CHILDREN'S CARE HOME AT POINT CLEAR (Lawful development certificate — granted)

Heycroft Care Ltd was granted a lawful development certificate on 17 September for a proposed change of use at 225 Point Clear Road, St Osyth, from a single family dwelling (Use Class C3) to a small children's care home for a single placement (Use Class C2), described in the application as a non-material change of use (26/01097/LUPROP).

Source: Tendring District Council — Applications Determined, week ending 18 September 2026

TENDRING — NEW HOMES ROUND-UP

Further new-dwelling applications validated or decided since our last issue:

• Outline application for up to 9 dwellings on land north of Mount View, Fox Street, Ardleigh — validated (26/01428/OUT)
• Non-material amendment substituting house types on land west of Clacton Road, Elmstead Market, for Hills Residential Construction Ltd — approved (26/01262/NMA)
• Revised building design for Plot 4A, The Meadows, Little Clacton — approved (26/01101/VOC)
• Demolition of structures at F Page Butchers, 5 Main Road, Ramsey, and two semi-detached dwellings — validated (26/01422/FUL)

Source: Tendring planning register

TENDRING — CARAVAN PARKS, FARMS AND BUSINESSES ROUND-UP

• Three applications to vary conditions at The Tideaway, Pump Hill Caravan Park, Clacton Road, St Osyth, covering 30 caravans, 17 caravans and a play area with additional caravans, to allow holiday use throughout the year — validated (26/01364/VOC, 26/01446/VOC, 26/01447/VOC)
• Road salt storage enclosure at Ardleigh Highways Depot, Harwich Road, Ardleigh — validated (26/01439/FUL)
• Lawful development certificate for an existing workshop building at New Moze Hall, Beaumont Road, Great Oakley — validated (26/01453/LUEX)
• Harwich Haven Authority's marine licence application for disposal of dredged material in the Stour and Orwell, reported in our last issue, is now marked on the council's schedule as to be determined by another authority, Harwich (26/01423/MMO)
• A 250kW ground-mounted solar array to power a salad-growing business at Whitehouse Farm, Church Road, Thorrington — validated (26/00803/FUL); prior approval for a farm workshop at the same farm was not required (26/01376/AGRIC)

Source: Tendring planning register

TENDRING — LISTED BUILDINGS ROUND-UP

• Demolition and rebuilding of an unstable boundary wall at The Mill, Station Road, Ardleigh — planning and listed building consent applications validated (26/01442/FUL, 26/01443/LBC)
• Discharge of conditions on junction detailing and materials at Beaumont Hall, Beaumont — approved (26/01116/LBDISC)
• Repairs to the south elevation, repointing in lime mortar and internal plaster repairs at Frinton Library, 59 Old Road, Frinton-on-Sea, for Essex County Council — listed building consent granted (26/01049/LBC)

Source: Tendring planning register

TENDRING — CONDITIONS AND AGREEMENTS ROUND-UP

• Discharge of conditions on biodiversity and surface water drainage at Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh — approved (26/01035/DISCON)
• Discharge of conditions on landscaping at the Goodlife Inn, Beach Road, St Osyth — approved (26/01278/DISCON)
• Discharge of conditions on biodiversity net gain for the multi-use games area at Crossways Recreation Ground, Jaywick — split decision (26/01213/DISCON); a further application on the biodiversity enhancement strategy was validated (26/01473/DISCON)
• Discharge of conditions for the former public convenience, beach patrol unit and shelter on Clacton seafront — validated (26/01441/DISCON)
• Legal agreement in relation to RAMS for an application at 126 New Street, Brightlingsea — validated (26/01374/S106)
• Legal agreement in relation to RAMS for a day nursery at 93 Fronks Road, Dovercourt — validated (26/01459/S106)
• Legal agreement in relation to RAMS for Plot 4A, The Meadows, Little Clacton — validated (26/01394/S106)
• Legal agreement in relation to RAMS for Sunny Croft, Cow Lane, St Osyth — validated (26/01437/S106)

Source: Tendring planning register

TENDRING — FULL REGISTER (61 APPLICATIONS)

COLCHESTER — FULL ENTRIES

PLANNING COMMITTEE DECISIONS OF 10 SEPTEMBER (Committee — five applications determined)

The minutes of Colchester's Planning Committee of 10 September, published this week, record the decisions on the applications reported in our last issue from the officer reports:

• Three warehouses at Fairfields Farm, Fordham Road, Wormingford (260743, 260876, 260741) — approved by ten votes to one, as recommended and with the amendment sheet
• Retrospective change of use of two agricultural buildings at Fairfields Farm to storage and distribution — approved by ten votes to one; the decision notice was issued on 14 September with conditions (260627)
• Variation of the approved drawings for the Holy Trinity Church Community Hub (261283) — authority to approve, unanimously, subject to any police comments and to the outstanding bat survey issue being concluded
• Listed building consent for the Holy Trinity Church works — approved unanimously, as already reported (261277)
• Eight advertisements at Northern Gateway Leisure Park — approved unanimously; the decision notice was issued on 14 September with conditions (261063)

On the Fairfields Farm applications, the minutes record that:

• officers proposed conditions so that the warehouses remain ancillary to the existing business and cannot be occupied independently
• conditions would control delivery and dispatch hours, and no external plant or machinery is proposed
• members considered the additional six heavy goods vehicle movements a day expected from the proposal in the context of existing traffic in the area, and no further transport assessment was pursued
• the parish council and a visiting councillor asked for a deferral

Decision notices for the three warehouses and the Holy Trinity variation have not yet been issued, so those references are not linked here.

Source: Colchester City Council Planning Committee, 10 September 2026 — minutes

CHILDREN'S NURSERY AT LAYER DE LA HAYE REFUSED (Change of use — refused)

An application to change the use of Unit 2, The Black Barn, The Folley, Layer de la Haye, to a children's nursery was refused on 15 September (261304). The application was decided under delegated powers; no committee report was published.

Source: Colchester City Council planning register — 261304

HOLIDAY LODGES AND CAMPING AT SALCOTT REFUSED (Full — holiday accommodation, refused)

An application with the applicant's address given as Springett Properties Ltd, for four holiday lodges, caravan pitches, tent pitches, car parking and a dog-walking paddock at Fourways, Barnhall Road, Salcott, was refused on 17 September (261307). The application was decided under delegated powers; no committee report was published.

Source: Colchester City Council planning register — 261307

COLCHESTER — NEW AND REPLACEMENT HOMES ROUND-UP

• Two self-build detached dwellings with garages at Chapel Farm, Wormingford Road, Fordham — each approved with conditions (252398, 252399)
• Refurbishment of The Little Glebe, Spring Lane South, Lexden, into a single family dwelling with a rear extension — validated (261679)
• A new two-bedroom semi-detached dwelling at 2 Eldred Avenue, Shrub End — approved with conditions (260342)
• Outline permission for conversion of a barn at Pennsylvania Lane, Tiptree, to one self-build dwelling — approved with conditions (260902)
• Outline application for one dwelling on the former golf driving range, Newbridge Road, Tiptree — validated (261688)
• Conversion of a house at 45 High Street, West Mersea, into two flats, with an external steel fire escape — validated (261678)

Source: Colchester planning register

COLCHESTER — REFUSALS ROUND-UP

• Side and rear extension at 1 Hallfields Cottage, Manningtree Road, Dedham — refused (261370)
• Discharge of the fenestration condition on the reserved matters for land east of Nayland Road, Great Horkesley, for Hopkins Homes — refused (261371)
• First-floor side extension at 11 Olympic Boulevard, Mile End — refused (261362)
• Retrospective rear canopy and front boundary wall with electric gate at 3 Baden Powell Drive, Prettygate — refused (260896)
• Lawful development certificate for a rear extension at 11 Valfreda Way, Wivenhoe — refused (261378)

Source: Colchester planning register

COLCHESTER — CONDITIONS, AGREEMENTS AND SIGNS ROUND-UP

• Request for an Environmental Impact Assessment screening opinion for land south of Halstead Road, Eight Ash Green — validated (261705)
• Discharge of conditions on roofing, walls and fences, landscaping and windows at Thurgood Farm, Daisy Green, Eight Ash Green — approved (261264)
• Discharge of conditions on architectural detailing and utilities on land east of Nayland Road, Great Horkesley — approved (261500)
• Application to modify a Section 106 obligation on permission 182220, land north-west of Dyers Road, Stanway — validated (261695)
• Advertisement consent for stack, monolith and fascia signs, a window graphic and flags on land north of Wyvern Farm, London Road, Stanway, for Persimmon Homes Essex — approved with conditions (261396, 261501)
• Replacement fences at the Gilberd School, Brinkley Lane, Highwoods — approved with conditions (261281)

Source: Colchester planning register

COLCHESTER — FULL REGISTER (48 APPLICATIONS)

BRAINTREE — FULL REGISTER

Braintree's planning register could not be read for this window; see the coverage note at the top of Planning Watch. The applications validated and decided in Braintree between 7 and 20 September will be carried in our next issue alongside that issue's new week.

ON THE HIGH STREET

BRIGHTLINGSEA

• An application was validated for a single-storey glazed infill extension to expand the reception at Manor Parade Dental and Cosmetic Clinic, Park Drive, with a new sliding entrance door (26/01336/FUL).

COLCHESTER

• An application was validated to change the use of a former convenience store and off-licence at 81 Barrack Street to a hot food takeaway and restaurant, with an extraction flue and a new shopfront (261687).
• Prior approval was required and granted for a change of use from commercial, business and service use to a one-bedroom dwelling at the Coach House, Balkerne Close (261338).
• A lawful development certificate to convert the upper floors above the shop at 6 Crouch Street East to a single dwelling, keeping the ground floor as retail, was refused (261408).
• Kefco Group Limited had details approved under a condition of permission 250220 at Unit A, Sheepen Road Retail Park (261430).

FRINTON-ON-SEA

• Nationwide Building Society was granted permission for a defibrillator and bleed kit cabinet on the external wall at 39 Connaught Avenue (26/01065/FUL).

ST OSYTH

• Tendring renewed a licence to hire out horses for LJK Riding Academy, The Stables, Heath Road, Chisbon Heath, on 1 September; the decision was published on 22 September (decision record).

THORPE-LE-SOKEN

• An application for listed building consent for shop signage on the front and side of 7 Churchgate, High Street, was validated (26/01451/LBC).

LICENSING

Tendring published a licensing delegations decision for 14 to 18 September 2026, dated 18 September. As with the previous week, the decision states that the individual determinations are set out in an attached report, but no report was published with it, so the premises decisions for that period cannot be listed here.

Source: Tendring District Council — Licensing Delegations, 14–18 September 2026

YOUR MONEY

• Colchester — Payment Plan. The Portfolio Holder for Resources and Assets approved a partnership with Payment Plan, a third-party provider, to offer automated, flexible repayment arrangements for selected Council Tax, Housing Benefit overpayment and other debts, and an amendment to the Income and Debt Policy. The decision could be implemented after 5pm on 18 September. The report records a conservative estimate of about £200,000 a year in net additional recoveries and a moderate estimate of about £440,000. Charges are outcome-based: a 10% collection fee, card transaction charges of 1.5% and £0.20 per payment, modelled at about 12% of amounts recovered. (decision record)
• Braintree — affordable housing at Cressing. Cabinet will be asked on 28 September to award £1,300,000 of Section 106 affordable housing contributions to Delta Housing for 35 affordable homes on land east of Braintree Road, Tye Green, Cressing: 21 for social rent and 14 for shared ownership. The report records that the council holds £1,696,962 in such contributions, with the earliest spending deadlines in 2027 and 2028, and that affordable completions were 233 in 2025/26 against an annual target of 250. (Cabinet agenda, 28 September)
• Braintree — temporary accommodation. The same agenda seeks a six-month extension of the arrangements for Digby's Court (£54,576) and New Direction supported housing (£34,210), from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, with an option to extend to 30 September 2027.
• Tendring — Wellesley Road car park. The £95,000 resurfacing of the Clacton car park, reported in our last issue, was completed ahead of schedule, and the car park reopens on 24 September. (council news release)
• Tendring — Dovercourt. The first half of the paving works on the £2.39 million Dovercourt Public Realm Scheme along Kingsway is complete. The scheme is delivered jointly by Essex County Council and Tendring, and work has moved to the western side of the road, with the temporary one-way system still in place. (council news release)
• Tendring — Brightlingsea promenade. Resurfacing of the promenade around the paddling pool is due to start in October and finish in November, subject to tides and weather. No cost is stated. (council news release)

JOBS & TENDERS

• Braintree — refuse collection vehicles. Cabinet will be asked on 28 September to award contract EPPO376, worth £1,804,215, to Dennis Eagle Ltd for seven 26-tonne refuse collection vehicles at £257,745 each, by direct award through a framework. The report records that electric vehicles were not considered suitable for these seven, and that delivery is expected in December 2027. (Cabinet agenda, 28 September)
• Braintree — financial management system. The contract award for a financial system, reported in our last issue as an urgent key decision, is on the agenda for Full Council on 30 September. (Council agenda, 30 September)
• Colchester — housing contracts. Colchester's new Forward Plan lists contract awards for retrofit energy upgrade work, flat roof replacement and a design and build contract for 72–86 Military Road (in private), all dated September 2026, and for replacement windows and doors, dated October 2026. It also lists the renewal of the council's insurance policies and the sale of 5 Fieldgate Quay (in private). (Forward Plan of Key Decisions)

THE COUNTDOWN

Colchester, Tendring and Braintree are currently due to be replaced by a single unitary authority, North East Essex Council, on 1 April 2028 — 555 days from today. The government withdrew its March 2026 decision on 7 September pending a review, so 1 April 2028 is the current stated date, not a settled one.

No shadow authority election countdown is carried. The Minister's letter of 7 September states that "elections scheduled to take place in May 2027 will go ahead to existing council boundaries".

NO NEW NATIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT

As of 24 September, the government had published nothing further on the review. The Ministry's collection page for Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock was last updated on 7 September, when the withdrawal letter was added. Its Local Government Reorganisation Advisory Group page was last updated on 16 September.

Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government — Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock: Local government reorganisation

WHERE THE THREE COUNCILS STAND

• Tendring's reorganisation page now carries a note that, following the government's announcement of 7 September, the page is under review. (Tendring's reorganisation page)
• Braintree's reorganisation page is unchanged since our last issue. A report to Braintree's Cabinet on refuse vehicles records that the vehicles have an expected life of five to seven years and could be used by any newly established authority if reorganisation takes place during that time. (Braintree's reorganisation page)
• Colchester's LGR Transformation and Transition Panel next meets on 7 October. Minutes of its meeting on 9 September have not yet been published.
• The Essex LGR Hub, the joint site of the fifteen Greater Essex councils, still leads with the March 2026 announcement and carries no later news. (Essex LGR Hub news)

HAVE YOUR SAY

Colchester Submission Draft Local Plan, Regulation 19 consultation — closes 13 October 2026. The Habitats Regulations Assessment and Sustainability Appraisal close on the same date. Respond via Colchester's consultation portal.

Tendring Local Plan Review, Submission Version — closes Monday 19 October 2026. The council states that this is the final opportunity to comment before the plan is submitted for independent examination. Respond via Tendring's consultation portal. Remaining drop-in events with planning officers, as listed by the council:

• Thursday 24 September, 3pm–7pm — Brightlingsea Parish Hall, Victoria Place
• Monday 28 September, 3pm–7pm — 1912 Centre, Cow Lane, Harwich
• Wednesday 30 September, 12pm–4pm — Weeley Village Hall, Old Clacton Road
• Friday 2 October, 3pm–7pm — Venture Centre 2000, Bromley Road, Lawford

Braintree Local Plan 2043, Submission Draft, Regulation 19 consultation — closes 5pm, Friday 6 November 2026. The consultation opened on 23 September. The council states that representations must focus on whether the plan is legally compliant and sound, that anonymous representations cannot be accepted, and that each respondent's name, post town and representation will be published. Respond via Braintree's consultation portal, or see the council's Regulation 19 page for the web form and paper forms. Drop-in events:

• Tuesday 13 October — Coggeshall Village Hall, Main Hall
• Tuesday 20 October — online webinar, registration required
• Wednesday 21 October — Halstead Queens Hall
• Monday 26 October — Feering Community Centre
• Wednesday 28 October — Kelvedon Institute, Main Hall

Braintree — outdoor table tennis at Sauls Bridge Sports Ground, Witham — opens Monday 28 September, closes 5pm Friday 16 October 2026. The council proposes two outdoor table tennis tables and smart lockers, funded by a £54,000 Section 106 contribution from the development of land south of Rickstones Road, Rivenhall. (council news release)

Tendring Charitable Collections Policy and Scrap Metal Policy — both close 26 December 2026. Details are on Tendring's consultations page.

Tendring ePetition, "Wheelie bins for recycling not boxes" — open until 31 January 2027. Sign or view the petition.

Three consultation sources could not be confirmed this issue.

• Colchester's consultation listing on its new website shows no entries under either open or closed consultations.
• Braintree's main consultations page lists no active consultations, although its Local Plan consultation is open on the separate portal above.
• Braintree's separate engagement platform loads without any readable content.

None of these results is evidence that there is nothing open.

COMING UP

• Thursday 24 September, 7.15pm — Braintree Licensing Committee, Council Chamber
• Friday 25 September, 10.30am — Tendring Cabinet, Town Hall, Clacton: changes to the Constitution on planning committees and the new National Scheme of Delegation; the annual housing complaints report, which records 84 Stage 1 complaints in 2025/26, 18 escalated to Stage 2, and tenant satisfaction with complaint handling of 36.3%, down from 49%; and a Housing Succession and Assignment Exchange Policy
• Monday 28 September — Colchester's Leisure Pool at Leisure World closes for refurbishment, due to reopen in early 2027; Tendring4Growth Business Fortnight runs to 8 October; Braintree's "Power Up" food recycling campaign begins, running to November
• Monday 28 September, 7.15pm — Braintree Cabinet, Council Chamber: refuse vehicles and affordable housing funding (see Your Money and Jobs & Tenders), the Climate Change Annual Report 2025/26, the Medium-Term Financial Strategy, a revised Planning Enforcement Plan and the first-quarter performance report, which records 32 of 33 projects on target
• Tuesday 29 September, 5.00pm — Tendring Planning Committee, Town Hall, Clacton: outline application for up to 30 dwellings north of Colchester Road, Elmstead (26/00287/OUT); permission in principle for one self-build dwelling east of 3 Orchard View, Wivenhoe Road, Alresford (26/00874/PIP); a community ride and play facility with pump track, tennis and padel courts and floodlighting at Clacton Leisure Centre (26/00883/FUL); and a temporary boat hall for seven years for the Shannon class lifeboat at the Hastings Avenue car park, Clacton (26/00727/FUL)
• Wednesday 30 September, 10.30am — Tendring Miscellaneous Licensing Sub-Committee (taxi licensing, in private)
• Wednesday 30 September, 7.30pm — Braintree Council, Council Chamber: Cabinet update, appointments, constitution updates and the financial system contract
• Thursday 1 October, 10.30am — North Essex Parking Partnership Joint Committee, Grand Jury Room, Colchester
• Thursday 1 October, 5.00pm — Braintree District Local Highways Panel, Council Chamber
• Thursday 1 October, 6.00pm — Colchester Planning Committee, Grand Jury Room: five bungalows on land west of Carshalton End (260883); repair and conservation of the West Tower of the Natural History Museum, High Street (261422 and 261423); and changes to the planning scheme of delegation
• Monday 5 October — Tendring scrutiny committee's Temporary Accommodation enquiry day (provisional)
• Tuesday 6 October, 7.15pm — Braintree Planning Committee, Council Chamber
• Wednesday 7 October, 6.00pm — Colchester LGR Transformation and Transition Panel
• Wednesday 21 October — Colchester Cabinet: Forward Plan items listed under In the Chamber
• Monday 26 October, 7.15pm — Braintree Council

HOW IT WORKS

Civil penalties for rented-home electrical safety

Colchester reported this week that it had issued a £13,600 civil penalty notice after a landlord failed to provide an Electrical Installation Condition Report when the council asked for it. Those duties come from the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020.

Under regulation 3, a landlord must have every electrical installation in a rented home inspected and tested by a qualified person at intervals of no more than five years, and before a new tenancy begins. The landlord must obtain a report of each inspection, give a copy to each existing tenant within 28 days, and supply a copy to the local housing authority within 7 days of a written request.

Under regulation 11, where a local housing authority is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that a landlord has breached these duties, it may impose a financial penalty. Each penalty may not exceed £40,000, and more than one penalty may be imposed for a continuing failure. The regulations were extended to the social rented sector by amendments that came fully into force on 1 May 2026.

Source: The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, regulations 3 and 11

Correction, 23 October 2026: this issue gives 1 April 2028 as the current stated date for a new council. That date came from the Government decision of March 2026, which was withdrawn on 7 September 2026. The Government is reviewing the programme and has published no replacement timetable.

The Colchester, Tendring & Braintree Briefing is published by Verified Brief. All information is drawn from publicly available sources including council minutes, planning records, procurement registers, and official government publications. Links go directly to primary source documents. Nothing in this newsletter constitutes opinion, legal advice, or political commentary.