Consultations

Local Plan Review

We need to review our Local Plan every five years. We are currently consulting on the Chelmsford Local Plan: Pre-Submission (Regulation 19) Document until 18 March 2025. Find out more about the Local Plan Review.

Taxi Rank Permit Scheme

The Regulatory Committee have agreed that a consultation should be carried out into a proposed Taxi Rank Permit Scheme at the new Beaulieu Park Railway Station.

We are consulting and seeking views on the proposal. The proposal includes:

• an initial batch of permits available to Chelmsford licensed hackney carriage drivers to be 15 to 35, out of a possible annual 50 permits
• permits could be within the range of £500- £1500 for a year
• we would review applications with possible priority given to those vehicles with disabled access, and also to electric vehicles
• we will issue physical permits to taxis permitted to use the rank

The consultation will run from Friday 24 January until Friday 7 March 2025.

Full details of the proposal are in the report given to the Regulatory Committee.

You can comment on the proposal online.

Chelmer Waterside

We consulted on the Chelmer Waterside planning framework in early 2021. You can keep up to date with the Chelmer Waterside project.

Dovedale Sports Centre

We consulted with users and non-users of Dovedale Sports Centre in early 2022, regarding improvement works. You can download the results of the Dovedale consultation and read the Dovedale press release.

Have your say on how we tackle homelessness

Many of us are fortunate not to have a direct experience of homelessness, but sadly, there are growing numbers of families in the district who do. The more of us who are aware of the challenges faced by some in our community, the better chance we have of preventing homelessness.

We ran consultation on our new Homelessness and Rough Sleepers Strategy, which closed on 21 November 2024. We will now analyse the results and revise the strategy accordingly.

Local Plan Review

We need to review our Local Plan every five years. As part of the Preferred Options stage, we have published feedback reports from that round of consultation. Find out more about the Local Plan Review.

PSPO for city centre car parks

We consulted on the extension of the City Centre Car Parks PSPO.

We proposed to reinstate the PSPO for a further three years from 12 August 2024, so we can continue to control the prohibited activities outlined in the PSPO. These help to ensure the quality of life of those who live, visit, and work in the city centre.

The consultation closed Thursday 8 August 2024, but you can view the proposed order.

PSPO for dog walking at Hylands

We proposed a new PSPO at Hylands Park around dog walking. This was to deal with the increase in dog-related attacks and incidents and to make the park more welcoming and safer for all visitors.

The consultation closed in August 2023. You can view the Hylands dogs PSPO.

PSPO for fly posting and roadside adverts

We consulted on the extension of the Fly Posting and Roadside Advertisements PSPO.

We proposed to reinstate the PSPO for a further three years from 1 August 2024, so we can continue to control the prohibited activities outlined in the PSPO. These help to ensure the quality of life of those who live, visit, and work in the city centre.

The consultation closed at 5pm on Friday 26 July 2024, but you can still view the proposed order.

Gambling policy

We had an open consultation for our revised gambling policy.

This consultation started on 10 October 2024 and closed on 7 November 2024.

New electricity power lines (East Anglia GREEN project)

In April 2022, National Grid launched a consultation on a project to build a 180km, 400kV electricity power line in East Anglia from Norwich to Tilbury. There will also be a new substation in Tendring. 

Part of the proposed new transmission line is planned to go through the rural north and west of Chelmsford.

You can view more information on the East Anglia GREEN project page or on our new power lines page.

Essex Air Quality Strategy consultation

Essex County Council has launched a six-week consultation on the new draft Essex Air Quality Strategy. This is on behalf of the Essex Air Quality Consortium (EAQC), which consists of all 12 district, borough and city councils in Essex, as well as the two unitary councils, Southend-on-Sea City Council and Thurrock Council, and Essex County Council.

The joint strategy, which all councils have developed in partnership, sets out how the consortium is looking to improve air quality across Essex. It is also supported by various public sector organisations, including local NHS trusts, Essex Police and the Essex Fire and Rescue Service.

The strategy outlines actions the EAQC's plans to take to improve air quality in Essex and help reduce the impact of air pollution on people’s health.

The best way to have your say is by completing the survey online. You can view and download the draft strategy from the EssexAir website, or at your local library. 

You can email strategy@essexair.org.uk if you:

• need a printed copy of the consultation survey or draft Essex Air Quality Strategy
• need to request documents in an alternative format
• have any questions about the strategy or consultation

The consultation runs closes on Sunday 2 March 2025.

Bradwell B Nuclear Power Station

China Generation Nuclear Power (CGN) and EDF Energy are developing proposals to build a new nuclear power station (Bradwell B) at Bradwell-on-Sea. Some parts of the development are off-site, which will support construction, are within the Chelmsford Council area.

You can read more about the power station development.