The Local Planning Authority for Loughton is Epping Forest District Council. The District Council is responsible for drawing up the Local Plan for the district; this sets out the planning policies for the area and provides the framework for assessing planning applications. The District Council receives all planning applications and decides if permission can be granted; the planning officers liaise with the applicant, visit the site and gather observations and comments from interested parties e.g. neighbours and from statutory consultees such as the Town Council.

The Town Council receives notice of all planning applications in Loughton and these are considered by the Planning Committee. The committee looks at the plans and discusses all aspects of the application and its comments are then forwarded to the District Council. The comments are taken into account when the decision on the planning application is made. Because most of the town councillors are Loughton residents they can bring their local knowledge and expertise into their deliberations. They often know of something which may affect or be affected by a particular application, which they can bring to the attention of the District Council.
In order to meet statutory deadlines, the Planning & Licensing Committee normally meets fortnightly.