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6,823 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Lufkins Farm, Great Bentley Road, Frating, CO7 7HN
Received 8 Apr 2024Nazeing Primary School, Hyde Mead, Nazeing Waltham Abbey EN9 2HS
Received 9 Apr 2020Boreham Proving Ground, Bulls Lodge Quarry, Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 11 Apr 2022Passmores School and Technology College,Tendring Road,Harlow,CM18 6RW
Received 14 Aug 2008Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon, CM9 8BQ
Received 18 May 2015Baddow Hall County Junior & Infants School,New Rd,Great Baddow,Chelmsford,CM2 7QZ
Received 11 Jan 2010Auto Spares, Station Yard, Thorrington, Great Bentley Road, CO7 8HY
Received 29 Jun 2026Ryedene Primary and Nursery School, Ryedene, off Clover Way, Vange, Basildon
Received 8 Nov 2018Lee Chapel County Primary School,The Knares,Basildon,SS16 5RU
Received 10 Jul 2007Land North Of Generals Lane Roundabout, Generals Lane, Boreham. Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 3HJ
Received 21 Feb 2025Elmstead Hall, Tye Road, Elmstead, Colchester, Essex
Received 27 Nov 2025Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall End, Witham, Essex, CM8 3EX
Received 12 May 2025Roxwell Landfill,Chignal St James,Chelmsford,CM1 4TZ
Received 29 Jun 1994St Lawrence Primary School, Rectory Road, Rowhedge, CO5 7HR
Received 29 Apr 2020Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road (A120), Braintree, Essex, CO5 9DF
Received 12 Dec 2014Bellhouse Quarry And Landfill Site, Bellhouse Landfill Site 2 Warren Lane, Stanway Essex, CO3 0NN
Received 13 Oct 2023Felsted County Primary School, Braintree Road, Felsted, CM6 3EB
Received 11 Nov 2019Park Farm, Martell's Quarry, Ardleigh, Colchester, CO7 7SP
Received 30 Aug 1996Asheldham Quarry, Southminster Road, Asheldham, Essex, CM0 7DZ
Received 23 Feb 2023Land adjacent to the Rectory, High Road, Buckhurst Hill, Essex, IG9 5RX
Received 27 Jan 2012Land to the south of Chalk End and the A1060 (Salt's Green) and at Shellow Cross Farm, Roxwell, Chelmsford, Essex
Received 24 Jun 2026Loamylands Farm,Loamy Hill Road,Tolleshunt Major,Maldon,CM9 8LS
Received 11 May 2006Bradwell Pit,Bradwell Quarry,Coggeshall Road,Bradwell,Braintree,CM77 8EP
Received 16 May 2000Stanway Quarry and Five Ways Fruit Farm, Warren Lane, Colchester, Stanway, CO3 0NN
Received 20 May 2015Records 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