Brentwood News
The latest Brentwood news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Pilgrims Hatch 182 Homes Approved: 64 Affordable, £5.5m
Permission for 182 homes off Doddinghurst Road, Pilgrims Hatch, was issued on 29 September, a year after the vote. 64 are affordable and £5.5m goes to services.
More stories
Food hygiene
Brentwood Food Hygiene: 27 of 31 September Ratings Are 5s
27 of the 31 food hygiene ratings given in Brentwood in September were fives. The High Street Subway rose from 1 to 4, but the Shenfield branch was rated 1.
Dunton Hills
Dunton Hills First Roads: Comment on Bus Gate by 16 October
Dunton Hills has filed plans for its bus-only link to West Horndon station. Comments close 16 October; the parish council wants the first roads heard in public.
Brentwood Council
Baytree Centre Cinema Plan Approved, Up to £6.52m Committed
Councillors backed the Baytree cinema plan unanimously on 16 September, with up to £6.52m of council money. Willmott Dixon and Milligan are now appointed.
Schools
Brentwood School Musicians Play to 500+ Crowds in Germany
55 Brentwood School musicians played five concerts in the Rhineland this month, each to 500 or more people. Staff say the crowds surprised even them.
Sport
Brentwood Town v Dagenham Live on BBC: Tickets £14.99
Brentwood Town's first ever live TV game: the FA Cup tie with Dagenham & Redbridge, Saturday 3 October, 12:30pm. All-ticket, adults £14.99, priority sales open.
Jobs
Brentwood Jobs Fair, 7 October: 52 Employers, Free Entry
52 employers, colleges and charities at the Brentwood Centre on Wednesday 7 October, 11am to 3pm. Free, walk-ins welcome, with a zone for 16 to 24s.
Planning
Brentwood Planning: Councillor Call-In Ends 31 October
From 31 October no Brentwood councillor or parish council can send a planning application to committee. Five did this year. Council votes on the rules tonight.
Brentwood Council
Brentwood Town: Council Asked for 100-Year Ground Lease
Councillors vote tonight on opening talks for a 100-year lease at The Arena, up from about 22 years left, and on whether promotion should be a condition.
Planning
Shenfield 142 Homes Approved With £3.9m Attached
Permission for 142 homes and an 80-bed care home north of Shenfield came on 17 September, 16 months after the vote. Contributions total £3.9m.
House prices
Brentwood House Prices July 2026: £12,430 Fall
The average Brentwood home sold for £514,480 in July, down £12,430 in a year. Only Castle Point fell faster in Essex, and flats took the worst of it.
High Street
Greggs Plans a Fourth Brentwood Shop at 42 High Street
Greggs has applied to trade from 42 High Street, its fourth shop in the borough, opening at 6am six days a week. Comments to the council close on 4 October.
Jobs
Brentwood Claimant Count: Over-50s Behind August Rise
Brentwood's over-50s claimant count is up 12.7% in a year against England's 3.7%, and accounts for the borough's whole rise. The August total is 1,220.
Brentwood
Brentwood Town FC Charity Match for Jack Marson on Sunday
A charity match for Jack Marson's young son kicks off at Brentwood Town FC at 5.45pm on Sunday 20 September, with friends taking on a Celebrity XI.
Brentwood Council
Baytree Centre Plan: Cinema, £6.52m and a 2029 Opening
Approved on 16 September: the Baytree Centre plan for a cinema, up to £6.52m of council money and a summer 2029 reopening. What the report proposed.
Brentwood Council
Brentwood Centre £25m Revamp Approved, Squash Lost
Permission for the £25m Brentwood Centre redevelopment was issued on 18 September. Three floodlit 3G pitches and a 900 sqm gym in, squash and boxing out.
Recycling
Brentwood Wheelie Bins on Hold as Essex Refuses £800,000
Essex refuses the £800,000 Brentwood asked for, so the borough-wide wheeled bin consultation is off and £96,000 of reserves goes on recycling instead.
Parks
Brentwood Playgrounds: £4m Plan Names the Sites and Years
A five-year council plan sets £4m against Brentwood's 10 playgrounds. Cromwell Road is beyond its life, and King George's gets £2.5m in 2030/31.
Business
Brentwood's 103 New Companies: 20 Share Three Addresses
Companies House logged 103 new Brentwood companies between 30 July and 2 September. Retail leads on 21, and one High Street first floor took 11 of them.
Food hygiene
Brentwood Food Hygiene: Why Most Low Ratings Are Paperwork
No Brentwood food business holds a zero and 83% hold a five. Most premises rated 1 were marked down on management, not on a dirty kitchen. Here is why.
Brentwood
Brentwood Cathedral Organist Retires After 33 Years
Stephen King has retired after 33 years and eight months as Brentwood Cathedral organist. An Anglican, and an NHS accountant by day, he is now Organist Emeritus.
Dunton Hills
Dunton Hills: First Works Would Move Reptiles Off Site
The developer of Brentwood's 3,700 home garden village has filed its first three pre-commencement applications. You have until 18 September to comment.
Schools
GCSE results 2026: Brentwood School just under 60% at 7-9
Brentwood School reports just under 60% of GCSE results at grades 7 to 9, Becket Keys almost a third. Both beat the national average for their type of school.
Jobs
Brentwood jobs fair: 7 October, new area for 18 to 24s
Brentwood's jobs fair returns to the Brentwood Centre on 7 October with a new area for 18 to 24-year-olds out of work or training. Stands are free for employers.
House prices
Brentwood House Prices 2026: £513,537 After £14,753 Fall
The average Brentwood home fell to £513,537 in June, a 2.8% drop in a month and the steepest fall of any Essex district. Detached homes took most of it.
Sport
Brentwood Sports Awards: Nominations Close 11 September
Eight categories, from Unsung Hero to Community Club of the Year, and a ceremony at Rayleigh on 3 November. Nominations close on Friday 11 September.
Schools
A level results 2026: Brentwood School posts 63% at A or A*
Brentwood School reports 63% of grades at the equivalent of A or A*, Becket Keys a record 14 students with three A*/A grades, and Anglo European a cohort taking four courses.
Planning
Fitzwalters Farm solar farm approved by one vote, 6 to 5
Brentwood's committee approved the 49.9MW Shenfield scheme 6 to 5 after a refusal motion failed. The permission runs 40 years and no community fund is secured.
Jobs
Brentwood claimant count: 1,245 in June, Shenfield at 1.1%
1,245 people in Brentwood borough claimed unemployment-related benefits in June, 2.6% of working age. Ward rates run from 1.1% in Shenfield to 3.5% in Brentwood West.
Council
Brentwood budget survey: have your say by 8 September
Brentwood Borough Council is asking what it should spend more or less on before setting its 2027/28 budget. The survey is open now and closes on Tuesday 8 September.
News
Brentwood planning: call for sites closes 31 August
You have until 31 August 2026 to put land forward for Brentwood's new Local Plan. Where the plan stands, the housing numbers, and what Dunton Hills means.