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.
6,823 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn. Received dates in our records: 12 Dec 1938 to 5 Oct 2026. Most recent record check: 11 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Indaver Rivenhall IWMF, Coggeshall Road, Essex, Bradwell, CM77 8EF
Received 24 Apr 2024Ongar Landfill Site,Ongar Landfill Site,Mill Lane,Ongar,CM5 9RG
Received 20 Oct 1999Harlow Integrated Support Unit,Harlow Integrated Support Centre (Former Commonside Special School),Commonside Road,Harlow,CM18 7EZ
Received 17 Apr 2007Barling Marsh Quarry and Landfill Site,Mucking Hall Road,Barling Magna,Rochford,SS3 0NR
Received 23 Dec 2003Land North of B.S.G. Land,Purdeys Industrial Estate,Purdeys Way,Rochford
Received 18 Apr 1997Moulsham Schools,Moulsham High, Junior & Infant School,Brian Close,Chelmsford,CM2 9ES
Received 29 Apr 2005Millfields County Primary School, Bowes Road, Wivenhoe, Colchester, Essex, CO7 9RD
Received 15 May 2025Gosfield County Primary School,The Street,Gosfield,Halstead,CO9 1ST
Received 30 Apr 2001Starz Youth Centre,The William de Ferrers School,Trinity Square,South Woodham Ferrers,Chelmsford,CM3 5JU
Received 16 Mar 2006Alton Park Junior School,Alton Park County Junior and The Leas Schools,Alton Park Road,Clacton on Sea,CO15 1DL
Received 29 Apr 2003Mayflower School,Stock Road,Billericay,CM12 0RT
Received 16 May 2007Ugley Landfill Site,Ugley Landfill Site,Cambridge Road,Stansted Mountfitchet,CM22 6HT
Received 14 Mar 1997Yew Tree Farm Bridge,Colne Park Road,White Colne,Colchester
Received 16 Oct 2003Castledon School,Bromfords Drive,Wickford,SS12 0PW
Received 25 Apr 1996St Nicholas Primary School,The Street,Tillingham,Maldon,CM0 7TJ
Received 8 Oct 2010Land off St Luke's Way, Runwell, Wickford
Received 12 Jul 2021Baynards Primary School,Townsend Road,Tiptree,Colchester,CO5 0ND
Received 13 Jul 2004Colchester Quarry,Colchester Quarry (Stanway Hall),Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 19 Aug 1998St Andrews School,Church Road,Bulmer,Sudbury,CO10 7EH
Received 5 Aug 2009Land between the A120 and A133, to the east of Colchester and west of Elmstead Market
Received 15 Nov 2024Gosbecks C P School,Owen Ward Close,Shrub End,Colchester,CO2 9DG
Received 22 Sept 2000School House, St Andrew's Infant School, Hickory Avenue, Greenstead Estate, Colchester,Greensted St Andrews Nursery & Infants School,Hickory Avenue,Greenstead,Colchester,CO4 3QJ
Received 24 Dec 2004Mid Essex Magistrates Courts, Shire Hall, Tindal Square, Chelmsford, CM1 1RA
Received 17 Nov 2014Widdington Pit, Hollow Road, Widdington, CB11 3SL
Received 3 Sept 2021Records 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.

Understanding planning · 13 min read
Read planning drawings, floor plans, elevations and sections. Use labelled diagrams, a drawing comparison table and revision checks to understand a proposal.

Property research · 13 min read
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