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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Grange Road,Tiptree,Colchester,CO5 0QQ
Received 19 May 2004Wivenhoe Quarry, Alresford Road, Essex, Wivenhoe, CO7 9JU
Received 22 Jul 2019East Mersea Youth Camp, Rewsalls Lane, East Mersea, Essex, CO5 8SX
Received 2 Jun 2017Bluehouse Junior & Infant School, Leinster Road, Laindon, Basildon
Received Not publishedBoreham Proving Ground,Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 15 May 2013Lufkins Farm,Thorrington Road,Great Bentley,Colchester,CO7 7HN
Received 21 Feb 2005Greensted St Andrews Nursery & Infants School,Hickory Avenue,Greenstead,Colchester,CO4 3QJ
Received 25 Sept 2007St Clere's Hall Pit,Main Road,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM3 4AR
Received 17 Nov 2006West Hatch High School, High Road, Chigwell, Essex. IG7 5BT
Received 19 Aug 2019Tendring Adult Community Centre, The Clacton Centre, St Osyth Road, Clacton on Sea,Tendring Adult Community College,St Osyth Road,Clacton on Sea,CO15 3BN
Received 2 Jun 2003Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon. CM9 8BQ
Received 13 Sept 2012Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road (A120), Braintree, CO5 9DF
Received 13 Feb 2024Hollow Road,Widdington,Saffron Walden,CB113SL
Received 18 Jun 2002Land North of Apprentice Drive, New Braiswick Park, Colchester, Essex
Received 3 Aug 2015Silver End Primary School,School Road,Silver End,Witham
Received 29 Oct 2002Brightlingsea Quarry,Moverons Lane,Brightlingsea,CO7 0SB
Received 13 May 2003Clearaway, Archers Field Close, Basildon, SS13 1DN
Received 19 Mar 2019The William de Ferrers School,Trinity Square,South Woodham Ferrers,Chelmsford,CM3 5JU
Received 20 Nov 2009Gosbecks C P School,Owen Ward Close,Shrub End,Colchester,CO2 9DG
Received 21 Sept 1999Colchester Skip Hire,Green Acres,Old Packards Lane,Wormingford,Colchester,CO6 3AH
Received 6 Apr 1998Land at Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell on Sea, Southminster, Essex, CM0 7HQ
Received 8 Jan 2024Ravens Academy, Nayland Drive, Clacton on Sea, Essex, CO16 8TZ
Received 15 Dec 2015ECC Store, Rear of Inde Plastik UK Ltd,Hanbury Road,Chelmsford,CM1 3SZ
Received 30 Dec 2005Crown Quarry, Old Ipswich Road, Ardleigh, Colchester, CO7 8QR
Received 19 Jan 2017Records 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