Coronavirus

We continue to monitor and respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Currently, all of our essential services are running as normal.

There are still some changes and additional information for the following venues and services:

leisure centres
museums
theatres
cemetery and crematorium
car parks and residents parking arrangements
licensing including guidance for taxi drivers and taxi passengers

If you’re using any of these services, you need to check the links to see what’s different.

Some shops and other businesses are choosing to encourage social distancing and facemasks. You should check with individual shops to find out their arrangements.

We will keep this page updated if there are any changes. You can refer to GOV.UK for more information on national coronavirus guidance and laws.

Coronavirus remains a serious health risk.

It’s important to stay cautious and help protect yourself and others. In England, you should:

meet up outside or if you’re indoors open windows or doors if you have visitors
take a PCR test and stay home if you think you might have COVID-19 symptoms
wear face coverings in crowded places to help protect others
check in with the NHS COVID-19 app when you’re out
wash your hands regularly and for at least 20 seconds with soap
get vaccinated if you are 18 or over

Test and Trace self-isolation payments

If you have been contacted by NHS Test and Trace and have been told to self-isolate, you may be entitled to a self-isolation payment.

Help for businesses

You can view our coronavirus help and guidance for businesses and employers for details of Business Rates changes, business support grants and other advice.

Building control

We will continue to assess all building applications in the same way and aim to meet our current turnaround timescales.

If you are carrying out building work, you must notify us (and provide your contact details) when you reach each stage of work, according to your Inspection Service Plan.

Normally, we will now only call before visiting if we need to carry out an internal inspection, such as for completion. If we can inspect the work externally and maintain social distancing, such as for foundation excavations, we will not call ahead, unless we need further clarification.

You can contact Building Control on 01245 606431 or email building.control@chelmsford.gov.uk

Planning

We are continuing to process planning applications as near normally as possible. You can submit new applications online using the Planning Portal.

We are able to provide Planning Advice meetings online via Microsoft Teams. Face to face meetings at the council offices or on site are also possible with the agreement of the Planning Officer. You can also request planning advice in writing.

If your income has been affected by coronavirus and you need help with your rent or Council Tax payments, we want to provide you with some information to help you.

You can view our coronavirus guidance for Council Tax and benefits.

If you have been contacted by NHS Test and Trace and have been told to self-isolate, you may be entitled to a self-isolation payment.

For more wide-ranging advice regarding your finances, you may find this Money Navigator Tool produced by the Money Advice Service helpful.

Our Customer Service Centre has reopened, and you can visit between 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. We will still be operating Test and Trace, and we politely ask that you wear a mask.

Information for those who rent their home

The protection given to those who rent their homes during the pandemic, will now end.

The notice period landlords must give you will reduce. Courts and bailiffs are beginning to deal with cases where tenancy agreements are being ended by the landlord.

If you think you might be at risk of losing your home, you can call our Housing Solutions Team for advice on 01245 606880 or email housing.solutions@chelmsford.gov.uk.

You can find more information about the ending of this protection for those who rent on GOV.UK.

Over the last year, working with our partners, we have been able to provide an extra 40 bed spaces. This has helped to stop the need for anyone to sleep rough in Chelmsford.

If you have concerns that someone might be sleeping rough you can make a referral online using StreetLink.