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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Roxwell Landfill,Chignal St James,Chelmsford,CM1 4TZ
Received 4 Jul 1994Pitsea Landfill, Pitsea Hall Lane, Pitsea, Essex, SS16 4UH
Received 11 Jan 2023Broomfield Primary School,School Lane,Broomfield,Chelmsford,CM1 7DN
Received 16 Jan 2001Highwood Primary School,Loves Green,Highwood,Chelmsford,CM1 3QH
Received 22 Oct 2002Bulls Lodge & Park Farm, Bulls Lodge Quarry, Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 20 Oct 1994Ugley Landfill Site, Cambridge Road, Ugley, CM22 6HT
Received 7 Jul 2020Columbus School and College,Columbus School and College,Patching Hall Lane,Chelmsford,CM1 4BX
Received 29 May 2009Bishops Park College,Jaywick Lane,Clacton on Sea,CO16 8BE
Received 8 Apr 2003Helena Romanes School, Parsonage Downs, Great Dunmow, Essex, CM6 2AU
Received 14 Mar 2023Land between Beaulieu Park (north of Generals Lane), Boreham Parish, and Deres Bridge Roundabout on A131, Great & Little Leighs Parish, to the north east of Chelmsford.
Received 7 Oct 2022Home Farm, Hall Road, Gaunts End, Elsenham, Essex, CM22 6DR
Received 5 Jan 2026Former Kores Nordic Site,West Road,Harlow,CM20 2AL
Received 8 Mar 2013Castledon School, Bromfords Drive, Wickford, SS12 0PW
Received 16 Oct 2023Janet Duke Primary School,Markhams Chase,Laindon,Basildon,SS155LS
Received 23 Jul 2002Cedar Hall School, Hart Road, Thundersley, Benfleet Essex SS7 3UQ
Received 7 Sept 2022Great Notley Garden Village, London Road, Great Notley, Essex, CM77 7FS
Received 9 Dec 2015Boreham Quarry,Gt Holts & Wallaces Farm,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3AU
Received 23 Sept 1997Blackley Quarry, Land to the north east and north west, A131, Great Leighs, CM3 1QP
Received 1 Apr 2015Chapel Farm, Lt Totham, Maldon. CM9 8LX,Chapel Farm,Lt Totham,Maldon,CM9 8LX
Received 8 Feb 2001William Read County Primary School, Long Road, Canvey Island, Essex SS8 0JE
Received 20 Mar 2026The Sweyne Park School,Pearson Avenue,Rayleigh,SS6 9BZ
Received 22 Mar 2007Land to the south of Buttleys Lane, Stortford Road, Great Dunmow, CM6 1SH
Received 23 Jan 2026Land at Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell on Sea, Southminster, Essex, CM0 7HQ
Received 1 Apr 2016Howbridge CE Junior School (also CM8 1DJ),Howbridge Road,Witham,CM8 1BZ
Received 18 Jun 2010Records 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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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