Local authorities are being asked by the government to push forward with Local Plans. At the same time, the Government has now confirmed (subject to Parliamentary approval) that Essex will move to five new unitary councils.

A clearer destination, but a more complicated transition

The proposed new structure for Essex is made up of West Essex, North East Essex, Mid Essex, South West Essex, and South East Essex, provides certainty on the end point. However, Local Plans are still being prepared under the current system.

Local Plans recently adopted or currently under review now will not disappear going forward. Evidence, site allocations, and policy approaches will carry through into the new authorities meaning existing Districts within Essex are not planning within a stable structure, but through a period of transition.

What this means in practice

The confirmed reorganisation makes it harder to treat current Local Plans as purely local exercises. Plans being progressed now are likely to become part of the starting point for the future unitary authorities. That gives current plan-making real significance. Authorities that move forward before 2028 may end up exerting more influence over the future planning framework in their areas than those that wait.

Buckinghamshire remains a useful reference point for understanding what follows reorganisation. Buckinghamshire was reorganised in April 2020, when the previous two-tier system of County and District Councils was abolished and replaced by a single unitary authority. Its existing Local Plans remained in place and the new Council inherited a mix of plans at different stages.

Six years later, the Council is expecting to achieve final submission for examination of their new Local Plan by 31 December 2026. The takeaway from this is simple. Governance can change quickly, but planning policy takes longer to catch up.

The result is an interim period where systems overlap and consistency is not guaranteed. That is the position Essex is moving towards.

The challenge

The challenge for Essex is no longer whether to prepare for reorganisation. It is how to manage the overlap between current plan-making and the incoming unitary structure.

That means recognising three things.

• Momentum still matters. Waiting for 2028 is not realistic where plans are already underway.
• Evidence needs to work at multiple scales, across both current and future geographies.
• A more strategic approach is becoming necessary, even before new authorities are in place.

Looking ahead

With implementation expected from 1 April 2028, Essex now enters a period where the future structure is known, but the current system remains in place.

The key issue is not whether Local Plans survive reorganisation. They will. Communities and stakeholders are being asked to engage with plans that sit within a changing system, and that can quickly become difficult to follow. The authorities that are able to clearly articulate not just what is being planned, but how it fits within the future structure, will be better placed to build trust and maintain momentum.

At this stage, it is not just about having a plan, but about making that plan understandable and credible in the context of what comes next.