Ashingdon Parish Council

13/05/2026

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Freight House Rochford - Expression of Interest
Rochford District Council has opened an Expression of Interest (EOI) for organisations interested in becoming the future tenant of the Freight House in Rochford. The Council is looking for an experienced operator to deliver a sustainable, community focused and financially viable model for this important civic building. Those interested can read the full press release and find details on how to submit their proposal here : The Freight House | Rochford Council

Freight House
Image of Freight House in Rochford.

Rochford District businesses recognised in Muddy Stiletto Awards 2026
A number of Rochford District businesses have been named as finalists in this year’s Muddy Stiletto Awards, celebrating the very best of independent businesses across Essex. Our apologies we omitted to include the full list of finalists.

17/04/2026

30/03/2026

Big decisions ahead as Rochford's early draft Local Plan consultation closes

Residents, businesses and community groups across Rochford District have had their say on the future of the area, as the latest Local Plan consultation closed on Tuesday 24 March.

The Regulation 18 consultation, which ran for six weeks, invited people to comment on an early draft of the new Local Plan.

The plan will guide how Rochford develops over the coming years, including where new homes and jobs could go, what infrastructure will be needed, and how the district's environment and character can be protected. A sound Local Plan is important to strengthen a local council's decision making, adding a layer of local control alongside national planning rules.

This stage of consultation focused on testing early ideas and gathering local insight. All feedback helps to shape the next version of the plan.

Councillor Danielle Belton, Leader of Rochford District Council, said: "The Local Plan will influence the future of our district for years to come. We can't stop change, but we can shape and direct it, and it's vital that the key mechanism for this reflects the views and local knowledge of our communities. Thank you to everyone who took the time to get involved."

At this stage, no final decisions have been made. The wide-ranging Regulation 18 consultation was designed to open up discussion and identify issues, opportunities and local priorities before more detailed proposals can be developed.

All responses will now be carefully reviewed, alongside the technical evidence still being gathered, as the Council prepares the next stage of the Local Plan. Councillor Belton added, "We are shortly entering the pre-election period, when councils' communications and announcements are restricted in the run-up to an election. During this period, officers will begin to go through the feedback received, and we will report back to local people on the consultation results in early summer."

There will be further opportunities for people to have their say. The next stage, known as Regulation 19, is expected this autumn and will present a more developed version of the plan before it is submitted for independent examination.

Interested residents can join the Council's 'Rooted in Rochford' planning e-newsletter for regular updates on the progress of the Local Plan:

25/03/2026

New Unitary Authorities Announced
The government has announced its decision on Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Greater Essex, confirming the county will move to five new unitary councils, subject to parliamentary approval.

The creation of five unitary councils - West Essex Council, North East Essex Council, Mid Essex Council, South West Essex Council and South East Essex Council - means that from April 2028, these unitary authorities will replace the current 15 councils across Greater Essex, who will have responsibility for delivering all services in one area including waste collections, planning, adult social care, highways, children’s services and more.

The new unitary authorities will be:

Rochford, Castle Point, Southend-on-Sea
Brentwood, Chelmsford, Maldon
Epping Forest, Harlow, Uttlesford
Braintree, Colchester, Tendring
Basildon, Thurrock
LGR aims to simplify council structures by creating new, more streamlined local councils that work better, making it easier for residents to access and navigate services.

Government has also confirmed their commitment to repayment in-principle of £200m of Thurrock Council debt.

Elections for the new shadow unitary authorities in Greater Essex are scheduled for May 2027, with new authorities expected to become operational in April 2028.

The latest updates and information about local government reorganisation in Greater Essex is available on the Essex LGR hub website.

04/03/2026

Rochford District residents will now be receiving their Council Tax Bill for the next financial year. They will see a percentage increase of 2.8% which reflects well against current inflation, and compares very well against many other local authorities.

This has been achieved by prudent management and cost savings by both Rochford District Council and ASHINGDON PARISH COUNCIL which reduced their Precept by -20%. APC looked at every aspect of expenditure in through detail and reduced its Precept against last year to £133,700 which is an excellent result on behalf of Ashingdon residents.

Clearly we are entering a period of unknown due to the Government’s Local Government Reorganisation strategy in the next 2-3 years, this will bring major changes in local government in the Rochford District and APC will likely see considerable change in its responsibilities.

03/03/2026

This is a new regular update on the Local Plan. You're receiving it because you said you were interested in "Planning" when you signed up to Rochford District Council's 'Tell Me More' mailing list.

Let's talk about transport
Thank you to everyone who is taking part in the Regulation 18 consultationon the emerging Rochford Local Plan. We're halfway through! You have until 24 March to comment.

We know there’s a lot of information to work through. Local Plans are long and complex by nature, and you're being consulted on the same document that the Planning Inspector will eventually see. We want to be open and show you the whole thing (and it is a legal requirement to!) but you don't have to read it all, or comment on all of it, if you don't want to.

Over the last few weeks of the consultation, we’ll highlight some of the key evidence that sits behind the draft plan, so you can see how different issues are being assessed.

One of those is the new Transport Assessment (TA), prepared by independent consultants SYSTRA.

What is a transport assessment?
The TA looks at how the district’s roads and junctions work now, and how different growth options could affect them in future. It includes detailed traffic modelling and technical analysis to test how the network might cope and where improvements could be needed.

The full report is long and technical. That’s why we’ve also published an Executive Summary.

Help navigating the consultation document
The Executive Summary explains, in plain English:

how traffic data was collected

how the modelling works

the main findings

the approach to potential mitigation

what further work will happen before the next stage of the plan (Regulation 19)

You can read it as a quick overview, or use it as a guide to help you dip into the full report.

All Transport Assessment documents, including the full report and technical appendices, are available on the council’s evidence base webpage under Transport and Infrastructure. As part of ongoing evidence-gathering work, we are looking again at some traffic pinch points this year.

It's important that we have a Local Plan which reflects the reality of our district, and evidence - from residents as well as reports - is vital to making that happen.

A simpler route
If you’re finding the Regulation 18 Local Plan document itself hard to navigate, there is also a short, straightforward PDF guide on the council website. It gives a simple summary of each section and helps you get to the parts you're most interested in first.

You can also ask questions directly to planning officers at drop-in sessions. There are three left before the consultation ends on 24 March:

Rochford - Freight House, SS4 1BU - 3 March, 1pm-5pm

Great Wakering - Memorial Hall, SS3 0EF - 5 March, 3pm-7pm

Webinar: Zoom, 12 March, 7-8pm - please register here.

We encourage residents, businesses and community groups to review the material and share their views. Your feedback at this stage helps shape the next version of the plan.

20/02/2026

The safety assessment of London Southend Airport is now required to be undertaken before any future developments are considered- where a holding objection has been imposed.
This is from the Local Planning Authority regarding any holding objections received from London Southend Airport
('LSA') in respect of planning applications in the District.
Where LSA has submitted a holding objection in respect of a particular application, until an Instrument Flight Procedure Assessment ('IFPA') has been completed, to allow LSA to assess the impact of any development upon the interests of the Airport, the planning authority will not be determining these applications until LSA's concerns are addressed or the holding objection is withdrawn.
Good news that our Airport has our safety at the heart of their operations.

10/02/2026

Draft Rochford Local Plan – Early Consultation

Rochford District Council is consulting on the early draft of the Rochford Local Plan.

📅 The consultation runs from 9 February until 5.00pm on 24 March.

Hard copies of the draft plan, maps and response forms are available to view at the Ashingdon Parish Office, King George V Playing Field. If you would like to look at these, please contact the Clerk to arrange access- [email protected]

🔗 The documents can also be viewed online here:

Information on the Rochford District Local Plan.

09/02/2026

Essex County Council are working with a research organisation to help better understand changes in bus usage among individuals eligible for concessionary bus passes (free travel for older and disabled residents).



A survey is currently live until Monday 2 March 2026, inviting older and disabled residents of Essex to take part. The short survey asks about travel habits and perceptions of bus use. The insights gathered will support Essex County Council in improving bus services and accessibility for these groups across the county.

This survey is being promoted through a range of engagement methods, including collaboration with key organisations, group sessions, on‑street engagement, and communication via TravelEssex and Essex County Council online channels.

To further extend our reach among the target audience, we would be grateful if you could share the survey through your parish or town council communication channels, such as your website, social media, e‑newsletters, printed newsletters, and display the attached poster in high‑traffic areas within your community.

www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/EssexBusSurvey/

09/02/2026

Essex County Council are working with a research organisation to help better understand changes in bus usage among individuals eligible for concessionary bus passes (free travel for older and disabled residents).

A survey is currently live until Monday 2 March 2026, inviting older and disabled residents of Essex to take part. The short survey asks about travel habits and perceptions of bus use. The insights gathered will support Essex County Council in improving bus services and accessibility for these groups across the county.

This survey is being promoted through a range of engagement methods, including collaboration with key organisations, group sessions, on‑street engagement, and communication via TravelEssex and Essex County Council online channels.

To further extend our reach among the target audience, we would be grateful if you could share the survey through your parish or town council communication channels, such as your website, social media, e‑newsletters, printed newsletters, and display the attached poster in high‑traffic areas within your community.

Please take a few minutes to take our survey.

29/01/2026

Local Plan consultation opens discussion on Rochford's future

Rochford District Council has voted to publish an early draft of the Local Plan for public consultation, marking the beginning of the next major stage in shaping the district's future.

At an Extraordinary Council meeting on Tuesday 27 January, councillors voted to approve the draft plan for 'Regulation 18' consultation.

The consultation starts on 9th February and runs until 24th March, giving residents, businesses and community groups a six-week opportunity to comment on early ideas about how Rochford could grow over the next fifteen years.

The draft Local Plan sets out initial options for where new homes and jobs might go, how town centres and villages could evolve, and how important landscapes and green spaces can be protected. At this stage, nothing is fixed and evidence is still being gathered, including comments from residents.

"This is about creating a Local Plan together so that it is truly local," said Cllr Danielle Belton, Leader of Rochford District Council. "These are early ideas, not final decisions. The purpose of the consultation is to test them in public and hear what people think.

"What do you support or disagree with? What do you know about your area that might have a bearing on the plans? Tell us and be part of the discussion. Help us to create a Plan that is truly local - based on local evidence and local need.

The Local Plan will guide development in the district for the next fifteen years. It will influence everyday aspects of life, from the character of towns and villages to the availability of homes, the protection of countryside, and the kind of places future residents will grow up in. It adds a layer of local planning rules that sit alongside national planning policies, giving residents and their elected council more control.

Councillors stressed that this stage is intended to be open and exploratory. "Planning can feel like a complicated, far-off thing," Cllr Belton added. "But this is about real lives and real places. You know your local area better than anyone. Your experience is evidence that will help to shape this plan.

"Our Local Plan must be more than a document. It must be a shared vision. Not one set by the Council, but by residents and community stakeholders too. Our Local Plan will be rooted in local evidence, based on local need, and with the local voice reflected."

Full details, including how to read the documents and comment both online and offline, will be released on the Council's website and in a leaflet coming to every home in the district in mid-February.

To be first to hear, you can also follow Rochford District Council on Facebook, NextDoor or X, or sign up to the planning e-newsletter at www.rochford.gov.uk/tellmemore.

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