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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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: 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Land to the rear of the Ambulance Station,Chelmsford Road,Dunmow,CM6 1LW
Received 10 Jul 2001Plots G4 & G6,Purdeys Industrial Estate,Purdeys Way,Rochford
Received 12 Aug 2004Brightlingsea Quarry, Moverons Lane, Brightlingsea, CO7 0SB
Received 7 Feb 2023Land at Colemans Farm Quarry, Little Braxted Lane, Witham, Essex, CM8 3EX
Received 29 Jan 2020Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 11 Sept 2019Brightlingsea Quarry, Moverons Lane, Brightlingsea, CO7 0SB
Received 1 Oct 2018Lodge Farm,Lodge Farm Lane,St Osyth,Clacton-0n-Sea,CO16 8SA
Received 2 Mar 2001Broadfields Farm,Broadfields Farm,Rayne,Braintree,CM7 8SA
Received 30 Nov 2000Danbury Park County Primary School,Well Lane,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM3 4AB
Received 23 Jan 2006Barling Marsh Quarry and Landfill Site,Mucking Hall Road,Barling Magna,Rochford,SS3 0NR
Received 15 Oct 2004Columbus School and College,Patching Hall Lane,Chelmsford,CM1 4BX
Received 4 Apr 2011Boreham Proving Ground,Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 9 Nov 2011Kirby Primary School,Halstead Road,Kirby Cross,Frinton on Sea,CO13 0LW
Received 23 Jun 2011Land at Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road (A120), Braintree CO5 9DF
Received 7 Sept 2022A13/A130 Sadlers Farm Junction,London Road,Basildon
Received 25 Oct 2013Land to the north A12, Trunk road at Cuckoo Farm (Park & Ride),Cuckoo Farm,Boxted Road,Mile End,Colchester,CO4 5HH
Received 28 Jul 2014Beaulieu Park Education Campus site, Beaulieu, Chelmsford
Received 2 Aug 2018Tavern Garage, The Causeway, Maldon, Essex, CM9 4LJ
Received 4 Mar 2026Halstead Sewage Treatment Works, Langley Mill Lane, Halstead, Essex
Received 29 Apr 2013Land at Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall End, Witham, CM8 3EX
Received 12 Jun 2018Land between the A120 and A133, to the east of Colchester and west of Elmstead Market
Received 11 Mar 2026Land to the South of Colchester Main Road (known as Sunnymead, Elmstead and Heath Farms), Nr Wivenhoe, Alresford, CO7 8DB
Received 12 Apr 2023Pitsea Junior School,Pitsea Junior School,High Road,Pitsea,Basildon,SS133AB
Received 30 Nov 2000Ryedene CPS, Clover Way, Vange, Basildon, SS164SY
Received 23 Jul 1998Records 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