Understanding planning · 13 min read
Planning application documents: what to read first
Understand planning application documents, officer reports and decision notices. Use a reading checklist, document table and worked example to inspect a case.
England · County council
Explore collected planning applications and decisions for Essex County Council. Search an address, application reference or proposal to find a record.
6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn. Received dates in our records: 12 Dec 1938 to 5 Oct 2026. Most recent record check: 13 Oct 2026. Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.
Explore published planning boundaries and follow their source records for designation details. Coverage varies: an empty map does not mean there are no restrictions. Check the council’s current maps and documents before relying on a boundary.
A boundary map is not available for this authority yet. Use council conservation-area and Article 4 guidance above where linked.
Download Article 4 coverage for all authorities (CSV)
Sources: Planning Data conservation areas and Article 4 direction areas. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Barnes Farm Infant & Junior Schools,Henniker Gate,Chelmer Village,Chelmsford,CM2 6QH
Received 5 Jul 1999Avocet, Shoeburyness MOD, Shoeburyness, Bridge Road, SS3 9XD
Received 26 Feb 2026Burrsville Infant School,Craigfield Avenue,Clacton on Sea,CO15 4HR
Received 30 Aug 2005Braintree Waste Transfer Station, Cordons Farm, Long Green, Cressing, CM77 8DL
Received 20 Jul 2022The Joyce Frankland Academy, Cambridge Road, Newport, CB11 3TR
Received 13 Oct 2017Home Farm, Hall Road, Gaunts End, Elsenham, Essex, CM22 6DR
Received 5 Jan 2026Boreham Proving Ground,Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 14 Sept 1994Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP
Received 3 Sept 2018Powers Hall Academy, Spa Road, Witham, Essex, CM8 1NA
Received 23 Jun 2014Willowbrook Family Centre, Church Road, Basildon
Received 3 Apr 1996Stanway Quarry and Five Ways Fruit Farm, Warren Lane, Colchester, Stanway, CO3 0NN
Received 22 Mar 2016Newport Chalk Quarry, Chalk Farm Lane, Newport, Saffron Walden, Essex
Received 6 Jul 2026Wix and Wrabness Primary School,Colchester Road,Wix,Manningtree
Received 31 May 2001Melbourne Park Cp School, Melbourne Avenue, Chelmsford, CM1 2DX
Received 24 Aug 2012Hillhouse Primary School, Waltham Abbey, EN9 3EL
Received 19 Mar 2014Harlow Integrated Support Centre (Former Commonside Special School),Commonside Road,Harlow,CM18 7EZ
Received 21 Jan 2002West Hatch High School, High Road, Chigwell, IG7 5BT
Received 18 Sept 2017Asheldham Quarry Southminster Road Asheldham Essex CM0 7DZ
Received 1 May 2020Unit 5-7,Hallsford Bridge Ind Est,Stondon Rd,Ongar,CM5 9RB
Received 28 Aug 2008Land to the east of Buttleys Lane, Stortford Road, Great Dunmow, CM6 1SH
Received 21 May 2024Archers Fields,Burnt Mills,Basildon,SS15 6DX
Received 19 May 2008Fawbert & Barnards (UNDL) PS,London Rd,Old Harlow,Harlow,CM17 0DA
Received 20 Jul 2007Two Village Primary School,Mayes Lane,Ramsey,Harwich,CO12 5HP
Received 30 Jul 2003Elsenham Quarry,Hall Rd,Elsenham,Bishops Stortford,CM22 6DJ
Received 11 May 2005Records are ordered by application ID, not submission date. Use search to find a particular address or proposal.
View all applicationsStart with the address or application reference. Open a record to read the proposal, dates and available documents, then check the official register for the latest plans and consultation details. If nothing appears, check coverage before treating the result as a complete planning history.
How to search planning applications
Understanding planning · 13 min read
Understand planning application documents, officer reports and decision notices. Use a reading checklist, document table and worked example to inspect a case.

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Read planning drawings, floor plans, elevations and sections. Use labelled diagrams, a drawing comparison table and revision checks to understand a proposal.

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Understand planning approval rates with an interactive calculator, worked examples and comparison table. Check sample sizes, outcomes and coverage before comparing.
These figures describe applications collected by PlanningTrack for Essex County Council, across all dates currently available. They are a partial dataset, rather than an authority-wide performance measure. The date range does not establish continuous historical coverage.
The approval percentage is approved records divided by approved plus refused records. Pending, withdrawn and unknown outcomes are excluded. No percentage is shown until there is an approved or refused record.
Check collection coverage