Council seeking legal advice after Government issues directions over local plan

Southend’s cabinet member for planning has meanwhile said the local authority is “taking legal advice” in relation to the correspondence.

Matthew Pennycook wrote to Southend's leader, Cllr Daniel Cowan, on Friday (23 October), directing the council to publish its draft local plan online and proceed to the Regulation 19 consultation stage no later than 6 November.

His directions also require the council to submit its local plan for examination by no later than 31 March 2027.

According to Pennycook, the intervention follows an indication from Cllr Cowan that the council to remove housing allocations from the plan.

In his letter, the minister warned that removing the sites would risk the plan being found unsound at examination.

He said: "I consider the continuous delay to the publishing of a Regulation 19 Local Plan and proposals to remove sites that would lower the proposed housing requirement and could increase the risk of the emerging plan being found unsound to be clear evidence of a failure to do something necessary in connection with the preparation of the Plan.

"I therefore judge that this meets the statutory test for intervention."

Pennycook meanwhile highlighted the age of Southend's existing local plan and the council's poor record of meeting housing delivery targets.

He said: "The existing Local Plan is 19 years old meaning the policies it contains are likely to be significantly out of date. Progressing a plan that is unlikely to be found sound at this stage risks long delays until an up-to-date adopted plan is in place, with work having to restart in the new planning system."

The letter added: "The Council has scored 37% in 2023, 28% in 2024 and 20% in 2025 on the Housing Delivery Test (HDT). This means that the Council has been continuously placed in presumption.”

Under the directions, Southend must progress its emerging plan through to the end of the examination process.

This includes preparing the current draft plan for publication and holding a Regulation 19 consultation on the document and its associated evidence by no later than 6 November 2026.

The council must then submit the plan for examination by 31 March 2027, incorporating any proposed minor modifications considered necessary following the consultation.

The directions also prohibit the council from taking any steps to withdraw the plan and require it to report monthly to the Government on its progress.

Responding to the intervention, Southend's Cabinet Member for Planning, Property and Governance, Cllr Kevin Robinson, said the council was taking legal advice on the directions.

He said: "The Council has been formally instructed by Central Government to publish the current draft Local Plan for consultation, which we must now do, allowing for the consultation process during the remainder of the year.

"We will need to carefully consider the full implications of this Government direction, and we are taking legal advice accordingly.

"This does not mean that this draft local plan has been formally adopted by the City Council nor that it is the final version. I want to encourage all residents, businesses and community groups to take the opportunity to review this document and have their say."

Adam Carey