Rochford District Council – Progress Review

The council undertook an LGA Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) during April 2025 and promptly published the full report with an action plan. 

The Progress Review is an integral part of the Corporate Peer Challenge process.  Taking place approximately ten months after the CPC, it is designed to provide space for the council’s senior leadership to:

• Receive feedback from peers on the early progress made by the council against the CPC recommendations and the council’s RAG rated CPC Action Plan. 
• Consider peers’ reflections on any new opportunities or challenges that may have arisen since the peer team were ‘on-site’ including any further support needs
• Discuss any early impact or learning from the progress made to date 

The LGA would like to thank Rochford District Council (Rochford) for their commitment to sector led improvement. This Progress Review was the next step in an ongoing, open and close relationship that the council has with LGA sector support.

The Progress Review at Rochford District Council (RDC) took place (onsite) on 26 February 2026. 

The Progress Review focussed on each of the recommendations from the Corporate Peer Challenge, under the following theme headings: 

Governance and leadership 

Recommendation 1 - Articulate how the joint political administration work together - build consensus on the things you agree on and don't spend time debating other issues.   

Recommendation 2 - Urgently review and refine the committee system and constitution to clearly define political leadership roles and ensure effective and timely decision making to implement the council’s priorities. 

Recommendation 3 - Strengthen governance processes to monitor delivery of the corporate plan, annual delivery plans and corporate performance. 

Delivering the Corporate Plan 

Recommendation 4 - Develop smart annual delivery plans for each year of the corporate plan which clearly demonstrate what the council will achieve, by when and the outcomes for communities. 

Recommendation 5 - Invest in organisational capacity to: 

• Enable delivery of the council priorities. 
• Create space and time for strategic thinking and innovation. 
• Promote quality over speed of decision making. 
• Develop and grow your own talent. 

Recommendation 6 - The whole council needs to take a stronger strategic leadership of place by continuing to develop, at pace, a Local Plan to ensure development is identified in the right locations with associated infrastructure, which will in turn reduce the risk of speculative development.   

Recommendation 7 - Build on the work to date to develop a coordinated approach to business, community and partner engagement. 

Local government reorganisation (LGR), Assets and Legacy 

Recommendation 8 - Make informed decisions based on business cases on the future of the council’s assets and use any capital receipts to fund legacy projects to benefit Rochford residents. 

Recommendation 9 - Continue to actively contribute to the greater Essex Devo/LGR conversations to ensure you get the best for Rochford district – be comfortable being uncomfortable in this space and don’t lose sight of the ultimate goal of devolution in Essex.

For this Progress Review, the following members of the original CPC team were involved: 

• Andy Bates - Chief Executive, South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council 
• Cllr Rowena Hay - Leader, Cheltenham Borough Council (Liberal Democrat) 
• Cllr Hannah Dalton - Leader, Epsom and Ewell Borough Council (Independent)
• Kirsty Human – LGA Peer Challenge Manager.  

In addition, to reflect the change in leadership since the CPC, the team were also joined by: 
Cllr William Nunn – Breckland District Council and East of England Regional Peer (Conservative).

Out of the CPC’s nine recommendations, the council’s RAG rated action plan reports that 100 per cent of actions are being progressed and on track for delivery. 

Since the Corporate Peer Challenge, Rochford District Council has undergone a period of substantial change and improvement. A new political administration took office in May 2025, changes have been made within the senior leadership and major programmes of work such as local government reorganisation (LGR), development of a new Local Plan and the plans for council assets have progressed at pace.

The feedback from the peers highlights that good progress has been made against all nine CPC recommendations, with particularly strong developments in collaboration, governance, performance management, and capital project delivery. Staff and member relationships have stabilised, and the organisation is increasingly focused on delivery, outcomes, and strategic alignment.

3.1 Governance and leadership 

The new leader and administration have significantly improved collaborative working, contributing to a more constructive culture and more unified political direction. This stable and united political environment has created space for strategic decision making and prioritisation. The focus has been on delivering positive change and not making changes for changes sake. The corporate plan has been progressed with some refinement, re-alignment of funds and resources and a concentrated effort to ensure the whole district benefits.

The budget has been approved and was a collective effort in development, with significant cross-party involvement to ensure political buy in. It is considered a legacy budget which ensures the delivery of key projects for the benefit of Rochford residents ahead of LGR.  

A new administration meeting open to all councillors with notes circulated afterwards and weekly newsletter allows for wider communication to councillors and opportunities for engagement. Focusing on communication has improved relationships, fostered trust, reduced tension, and is helping the organisation to focus on shared outcomes. Councillors were honest enough to admit they don’t always agree, but there are constructive discussions and respectful debate. 

The council has strengthened corporate performance processes, including improved reporting, project management, thematic boards and better alignment between operational activity and political priorities. The maturing governance framework is enabling clear oversight of both performance and delivery. In addition, a more engaged and visible corporate leadership team (CLT) is now actively involved in shaping and driving delivery. 

Relationships between councillors and officers have improved, with clearer expectations and more transparent communication. Peers heard throughout their conversations that the council feels like a different organisation since May 2025. This was also reflected in a quick poll conducted by the peer team at the end of each session asking for one word to describe what was better now. This resulted in words such as “relationships, positivity, progress, collaboration, openness, leadership, communication, trust and inclusion”. 

Peers heard of officers attending multiple committees to present the same report, of needing to keep multiple committee chairs briefed and of officers being expected to present reports and answer political questions. Peers suggest this could be remedied by considering the introduction of a regular committee chair meeting to discuss upcoming reports and where best to review them, to align committees more closely with directorate responsibilities and to further develop councillor capability through chairing and governance training. These suggestions would enable faster, more coordinated decision making as committee chairs take stronger ownership of their priorities, budgets and increase strategic political oversight. It would also reduce the capacity drain on officers in key roles such as those with responsibility for planning services and development of the Local Plan.

3.2 Delivering the Corporate Plan

The council has taken decisive action to produce a new Local Plan by December 2026. With regulation 18 consultation carried out in 2021, a new regulation 18 consultation process is currently running until March 2026 to ensure the council has up-to-date information on which to progress to regulation 19 in the autumn, keeping the council on track for submission of the Local Plan by December 2026. 

The work is progressing at pace and securing a new Local Plan with agreed development sites will build greater certainty for communities and reduce the risk of speculative applications being submitted, which even if refused by the Council, may be overturned on appeal.

It is essential the collective political oversight of this work is maintained and there are no delays to the timetable. With elections in May 2026, there will be a period of adjustment for any new councillors, but this cannot be allowed to jeopardise or delay the Local Plan delivery if the council wants to secure long term planned development for its residents. 

The new internal governance framework is becoming more embedded, with improved monitoring of delivery plans, budget and performance indicators. The strengthened performance management framework and tighter project management was clear to see through the thematic dashboards. All service plans are now aligned to the Corporate Plan and explicitly include LGR opportunities and risks. There is a much clearer golden thread linking strategic priorities through to delivery, enabling better prioritisation and performance oversight. 

Peers were encouraged to see investment approved in key corporate areas such as Human Resources (HR), Information Technology (IT), assets and communications, reflecting a commitment to enabling delivery, strengthening organisational morale and readiness for change. CLT and corporate management team (CMT) away days have enabled opportunities for collaboration and discussion; however, there remains a need to create more structured time and space for strategic thinking at senior levels. Peers recognise this requirement is not unique to Rochford but given the current landscape and distinct leadership needs of creating a “One Team” ethos/approach/way of working, it will prevent reactive leadership, ensure decisions are linked to longer term priorities, improve decision making and encourage innovation.

A prioritisation exercise has been completed which sought to align the most important projects with the budget and realistic resources, however, peers suggest the council looks to refine the Corporate Plan priorities further to ensure they remain deliverable within available capacity, especially considering upcoming LGR changes.

Significant progress has been made on organisational development through the people and culture strategy, including bolstering HR capacity, increasing apprenticeships and strengthened the council’s approach to equality diversity and inclusion. Staff commitment to the council was evident from the positive engagement at the recent staff awards event.

3.3 LGR, Assets and Legacy

Peers were encouraged to see the council’s capital projects prioritised and resourced with informed decisions made on the future of council assets. A new asset management strategy and framework with accompanying action plan was approved in June 2025. Subsequently, Freight House main hall was opened and a café at Mill Hall has been delivered, marking real progress on long delayed capital schemes, strengthening community confidence and unlocking local benefits.

Rationalisation of legacy projects and the increase in officer resources within the asset team is supported by peers, however they also emphasised the need for caution in continuing to add to the action plan. It will important that Rochford ensure asset decisions remain firmly based on business cases, enabling reinvestment of capital receipts into long term community benefit.

The council contributed constructively to the countywide work on LGR and submitted its own preferred LGR position in September 2025. Peers reflected that this activity was undertaken in a short timeframe, and that concerted efforts were made to ensure the views of residents were reflected through a thorough consultation exercise. Rochford’s active participation in LGR ensures the district has influence over future governance arrangements rather than being shaped by external forces. The administration is clear they will support and help deliver whichever plan is recommended by government but remain proud of their “Best for Essex” proposal.

The organisation is beginning to consider implications of LGR on staffing, services and the “One Team” partnership. Communications and transparent planning for LGR is helping staff feel informed and reassured, maintaining morale during uncertainty.

Peers encourage the council to continue scenario planning to ensure the council is fully prepared for any LGR outcome. This is particularly important given the distinctiveness of the “One Team” and the potential for Rochford and Brentwood District Council to fall into different unitary areas. Any advance planning for the implications of this will serve the council, its staff and communities well. 

Overall, Rochford has made strong, tangible progress in the year since the CPC, responding proactively to all nine recommendations. Core governance frameworks are now stronger; officer and councillor relationships have improved; strategic planning and project management have matured; and capital projects are advancing after previously long delays.

To build on this progress, the council should continue refining priorities, maintain momentum on the Local Plan and LGR, and approach the next 12 months with a clear focus on positive legacy and sustainable delivery.

As discussed, the LGA can provide a range of development support and advice post-election should this be required. More details can be found on our Councillors Hub and changes in political leadership pages. 

The LGA would like to thank Rochford Council for undertaking an LGA CPC Progress Review. 

We appreciate that senior managerial and political leadership will want to reflect on these findings and suggestions to determine how the organisation wishes to take things forward.

Under the umbrella of LGA sector-led improvement, there is an on-going offer of support to councils. The LGA is well placed to provide additional support, advice and guidance on several of the areas identified for development and improvement and we would be happy to discuss this. 

Rachel Litherland (Principal Adviser) is the main point of contact between the authority, and the Local Government Association (LGA) and their e-mail address is [email protected]

Further information, support, and resources on LGR/Devolution, can be found on the LGA’s devolution and LGR Hub website.