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6,823 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Fennes Estate, Bocking, Braintree
Received 21 Nov 2014Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Canfield, Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 7 Oct 2019Unit 29, Childerditch Industrial Estate, Childerditch Hall Drive, Little Warley, Brentwood, CM133HD
Received 30 Oct 2014Elsenham Church of England Primary School, High Street, ELSENHAM, CM22 6DD
Received 16 Jan 2018The Sweyne Park School, Sir Walter Raleigh Drive Rayleigh SS6 9BZ
Received 16 Mar 2021Biogen Halstead AD Plant, Bluebridge Industrial Estate, Sixth Avenue, Halstead, CO9 2FL
Received 6 Aug 2024Land between the A120 and A133, to the east of Colchester and west of Elmstead Market
Received 15 Nov 2024Bradwell Quarry,Coggeshall Road,Bradwell,Braintree,CM77 8EP
Received 17 Nov 1998Sandon,Sandon Quarry,Southend Road,Chelmsford,CM2 7TE
Received 20 Jun 1985Veolia E S Uk Ltd, Pitsea Hall Lane, Pitsea, Basildon, SS164UH
Received 22 Apr 2013Land adjacent to Glenwood Special School, Rushbottom Lane, Thundersley, Benfleet, SS7 4LW
Received 15 Mar 2016John Bunyan County Inants School,Lancaster Way,Braintree,CM7 5UL
Received 7 Mar 2008Harlowbury Primary School Site, Gilden Way, Harlow, Essex
Received 14 Jan 2026The Rickstones School,Southview Special School (Previously Elm Hall CPS),Conrad Rd,Witham,CM8 2SD
Received 25 Jul 2002Land at Dollymans Farm, Doublegate Lane, Rawreth, Wickford, SS11 8UD
Received 4 Dec 2020Kelvedon St. Marys C Of E Primary School, Docwra Road, Kelvedon, Colchester, CO5 9DS
Received 9 Nov 2012Wivenhoe Quarry,Alresford Road,Wivenhoe,Colchester,CO7 9JY
Received 21 Jul 2006Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road (A120), Braintree, Essex, CO5 9DF
Received 4 Aug 2015Stanway Fiveways Primary School, Winstree Road, Stanway, CO3 0QG
Received 26 Sept 2017Elsenham Church Of England Primary School, High Street, Elsenham, CM22 6DD
Received 1 Nov 2018St Peter's Church Of England Primary School, Myneer Park, Coggeshall, Essex, CO6 1YU
Received 29 Jul 2026Trinity Road Primary School, Trinity Road, Chelmsford CM2 6HS
Received 20 Jan 2022Ongar Landfill Site,Ongar Landfill Site,Mill Lane,Ongar,CM5 9RG
Received 30 Mar 2000Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall End, Witham, Essex, CM8 3EX
Received 27 Aug 2024Records 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.

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