Loughton Town Council

15/01/2026

🏆 Nominations Now Open – Local Building Design Awards 2026 🏗️

Do you know a building project in Loughton that deserves recognition? We’re inviting nominations for our annual awards, celebrating great design, quality construction, and sympathetic restoration that make a positive contribution to our local environment.

Whether it’s:
🏠 a new residential or commercial development
🔨 a thoughtful refurbishment
🏗️ a small alteration or a large scheme
If it was completed within the last two years, we want to hear about it!

👥 Who can nominate?
Residents, architects, developers, contractors, and property owners are all encouraged to take part.

📅 Closing date: Friday 30 January 2026
🏆 Awards presented: Annual Town Meeting
📍 Wednesday 18 March 2026, Murray Hall
📄 Nomination forms can be downloaded from our website using the link below:
LBD nomination form 2026.docx

👩‍⚖️ Our judges – Cllr David Wixley (Town Mayor), Carol Davies (Chairman, Planning & Licensing Committee) and Chris Pond (Chairman, Environment & Heritage Committee) – are looking forward to your nominations, especially as no award was made last year.

🏆 Previous winners include:
• 2023 – 49 Church Lane
• 2016 – Staples Road Primary School

✨ Help us celebrate the buildings that make Loughton special!

15/01/2026

🌟 Have Your Say on the Future of Loughton High Road 🌟
We’re inviting local businesses, charities, community groups, and residents to an informal meeting to explore the idea of creating a new High Road Town Centre Partnership for Loughton.
In the past, Loughton First (formerly the Loughton Town Centre Partnership) brought people together to support the High Road and strengthen community spirit. While it eventually dissolved due to a lack of sustained volunteers, there is now renewed enthusiasm to see whether a refreshed, more focused partnership could make a positive difference for everyone involved.
👉 This meeting is purely exploratory — a chance to:
Gauge interest
Share ideas
Discuss what a modern, practical, and inclusive town centre partnership could look like

No commitment is expected at this stage.
💡 By working together, a partnership could:

Strengthen Loughton’s community identity and pride
Improve communication between local organisations and businesses
Support events and initiatives that benefit the High Road
Create a collective voice for the town centre

📍 Where: Lopping Hall, IG10 4LF
📅 When: Thursday 5 February
⏰ Time: 6:00pm

If you’d like to attend or receive more information, please let me know by Friday 30 January. Even if you can’t make it, we’d still love to hear your thoughts or suggestions.

We hope you’ll consider joining this initial conversation and helping shape the future of our High Road.

15/01/2026

❄️ It’s not too late to volunteer! ❄️

Help keep Loughton moving this winter by joining our Winter Salt Bag Scheme.

If you’re able to lend a hand in the hillier areas of the town, you can help keep side roads and pavements safe during periods of frost or snow by clearing snow and spreading salt.

🧂 How it works:
Essex County Council runs the Salt Grit Scheme to support local communities, and Loughton Town Council is helping by identifying volunteers and distributing free bags of salt.

⚠️ Please note: the salt is for use on public highways (roads and pavements) only and not for private driveways or paths.

If you’d like to get involved and help your community this winter, we’d love to hear from you! 💙

We have many willing residents who have joined this scheme, but we particularly require volunteers around the Carrol Hill and Uplands area of Loughton! If you are happy to spread some Salt Grit around this area please get in touch [email protected] or ring 0208 508 4200 and speak to Olivia Drew.

15/01/2026

🎄✨ Christmas Window Competition 2025 – Winners Announced! ✨🎄

Loughton Town Council would like to thank all of the town’s wonderful businesses who decorated their windows and helped bring festive cheer to Loughton this Christmas. 🎅🎁

All Christmas-themed displays were automatically entered into our 2025 Christmas Window Competition, which was judged by Town Mayor Cllr David Wixley, alongside Cllr Stephen Harriman and Cllr Wendy Dodd.

🏆 Our 2025 Winners are:

🌟 Local / Independent Business
Forest Casual & Schoolwear – Katie and Claire created a festive display cleverly incorporating the store’s products.

🌟 Multiples / Chain Store
David Clulow Opticians – A display that achieved a striking visual impact.

🌟 Charity Shop
Haven House Children’s Hospice Shop – Praised for its abundance of Christmas cheer.

🌟 Eateries (Cafés, Pubs & Restaurants)
The Aviary – For producing a most impressive illuminated display.

Each winner received an engraved silver cup and a laminated certificate. 🏆📜

💙 Charity Donations
The charities chosen by the category winners will each receive a £75 donation from Loughton Town Council:
• Chigwell Riding Trust
• St Clare Hospice
• Haven House Children’s Hospice

🎖️ Certificates of Merit were also awarded to:
🚒 Loughton Fire Station – For inventively decorating its tower with a snowman that delighted children across the town.
🌲 Haslers Chartered Accountants – For an impressive display, best seen at night, featuring twinkling Christmas trees and festive décor.

👏 Congratulations to all our winners and thank you to everyone who helped make Loughton sparkle this Christmas. ✨

📸 Photos from the displays below!

15/01/2026

Closing Date is fast approaching ... DO YOU KNOW A WORTHY HERO we are sure there are many residents who go above and beyond and are worthy of recognition ... please email [email protected] for a nomination form!

01/12/2025

Cllr David Wixley, Loughton Town Mayor, welcomed residents and visitors to our 23rd annual Light up a Life event for St Clare Hospice, which took place on Saturday 29 November.

The candlelight procession from Loughton Methodist Church gathered on Kings Green for carols, and small service of reflection.

We are very grateful and thank, Rev’d Sue Creighton, Minister at Loughton Methodist Church for hosting the event, Epping Forest Singers for their beautiful singing, Rev'd Will Rose-Moore, Assistant Curate at St John's Loughton and Michele Tavarone, Social Worker Patient & Family Support at St Clare Hospice for their meaningful and fitting words remembering loved ones and to reflect on the care and work of our local hospice.

We also thank Morrisons for their generous donation of mince pies and refreshments which were enjoyed by all back at the Methodist Church and Chris at CBSVL Events for providing the PA system.

The Lights on the Kings Green tree will now remain lit during the Christmas period

For more information on the work of St Clare Hospice please contact https://stclarehospice.org.uk/us/get-in-touch/contact/
Epping Forest Singers https://www.eppingforestsingers.com/
St John's Church, Loughton CB SVL event production

20/11/2025

Winter Salt and Grit
Essex County Council (ECC), Highways Division is no longer replacing or willing to take responsibility for the salt bins they remove, and will only grit major highways, throughout the county. We must reiterate that Loughton Town Council is NOT responsible for pavements /highways. We simply do not have the equipment or staff resources to facilitate gritting for a town the size of Loughton.
We do what we can. As we are delivered a limited amount of salt and grit from ECC each year, we would encourage more volunteers to come forward to help clear snow and spread salt/grit on the pavement and road outside their homes to keep access routes open, particularly in the hillier parts of Loughton. If you would like to help, please contact Olivia Drew at the Town Council at [email protected] or 020 8508 4200 (ext 1004). Our existing group of volunteers will be contacted directly to arrange collection of their salt / grit supplies for the coming winter.
Many thanks

20/11/2025

2025 Christmas Window Competition

The Town Council invites all Loughton businesses to decorate their shop windows in a Christmas themed design for automatic entry to this special Christmas competition. The more festively dressed windows created, the more enchanting the atmosphere! This will help tempt more residents to shop locally over the Christmas shopping period.

There are four entry classes: Local/Independents, Multiple/Chain Stores, Charity Shops and Eateries (including Restaurants, Cafes and Public Houses). Each group winner will have the opportunity to nominate a charity to receive a £75 donation from Loughton Town Council and will be awarded an engraved cup to keep for eleven months along with a laminated certificate.

Runners-up and highly commended entries in each class will be awarded a laminated certificate.

Christmas-themed window displays will be judged on a range of criteria, including:
 Overall impression/visual impact
 Creativity/ideas
 Artistic merit
 Inventive use of materials
 Effort
Window decorations must be completed for when the judging commences on 1 December.
The judges this year are the Town Mayor, Cllr David Wixley, accompanied by Cllrs Dodd and Harriman. The judging will be completed no later than 7 December. (Full details of competition rules can be found on our website http://www.loughton-tc.gov.uk/_VirDir/CoreContents/News/Display.aspx?id=79840

11/11/2025

Loughton Remembered

Loughton’s Remembrance Parade and Service was held on Sunday 9 November 2025 at the war memorial on Kings Green, Loughton.

The sun shone, and hundreds of residents joined the annual parade, leaving the Royal British Legion Headquarters (Loughton Branch) at Church Hill. The procession was a wonderful sight and included representatives from The Royal British Legion, Churches Together in Loughton, the Air Cadets, Scouts, Guides, Brownies and Rainbows together with ex-service men and councillors.

Large crowds assembled at Kings Green where Town Mayor, Councillor David Wixley, together with Deputy Lord Lieutenant Amrik Singh, Dr Neil Hudson MP for Epping Forest and Cllr Louise Mead, Chairman of Epping Forest District Council led the tributes. The two minutes silence marking the anniversary of this day in 1918 when the guns finally stopped at the end of the First World War. We thank the ministers from ‘Churches Together in Loughton’ for the service and also Ben Mayer, representing the Royal British Legion and veterans for his superb organisation of the parade. Altogether a really fitting tribute to the fallen.
Photos from Everything Epping Forest

11/11/2025

Loughton Remembered

On Armistice Day, Tuesday 11 November at 11am Loughton Town Council also held a two-minute silence at the War Memorial on Kings Green and members of Staples Road Primary School Council and children from Chrysalis Day Nursery laid their poppy wreaths. We were also joined this year for the first time, by the Public Services students from New City College along with members of the public.

Town Mayor, Cllr David Wixley read the Exhortation, and we thank Flag Bearer, Malachi Fontenelle representing the Loughton Royal British Legion and Reverend Chris Davies, who provided a short address, for their contribution to the event.

03/11/2025

For many people, Christmas begins with the annual “Light up a Life” ceremony at Kings Green. The Town Council, in partnership with St Clare Hospice, invites all Loughton residents to come together with their friends and family to remember and celebrate the life of someone close and dedicate a symbolic light in their memory.

Everyone is invited to join this special event which includes the switching on of the Christmas lights on the large tree by the war memorial. This year’s ceremony will take place on Saturday, 29 November 2025. We will be meeting in the foyer of the Loughton Methodist Church in the High Road from 4.30pm ready for the torch-lit procession leaving at approximately 4.45pm, for the short walk to Kings Green.

This Light up a Life event gives people a very special opportunity to reflect and share fond memories of loved ones at this poignant time of year. There will be an opportunity to sing some favourite carols and, following the short service, hot drinks and mince pies will be served back at the Methodist Church.

The event is open to everyone; you don’t have to have experienced hospice care.

27/10/2025