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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Danbury County Youth Camp,Well Lane,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM3 4AB
Received 16 Oct 2001Takeley Primary School, Roseacres, Takeley, CM22 6QY
Received 29 Apr 201520 , Main Road, Danbury, Chelmsford, CM3 4NQ
Received 27 May 2015St Andrews CE Primary School,Great Yeldham,Halstead
Received 29 Apr 2003Heybridge Centre,The Heybridge Centre,The Street,Heybridge,Maldon,CM9 4NB
Received 16 May 2006Chelmsford Waste Transfer Station, Winsford Way, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM2 5AA
Received 10 May 2018Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Canfield, Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 11 Nov 2019Land at: Colemans Farm Quarry, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall, Witham, Essex, CM8 3EX
Received 26 Apr 2021Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road Rayne, Braintree, Essex CM77 6SB
Received 13 May 2022Newlands Spring Primary School, Dickens Place, Chelmsford, CM1 4UU
Received 20 Dec 2017Childerditch Highways Depot, Hall Drive, Childerditch Industrial Park, Childerditch, Brentwood, Essex, CM13 3HD
Received 22 Nov 2012Highway Maintenance Depot,Bakers Lane,Black Notley,Braintree,CM77 8QS
Received 5 Sept 2001Notley High School,Notley High School,Notley Road,Braintree,CM7 1HL
Received 2 Feb 2004Bouchiers Hall Farm,Inworth,Colchester
Received 11 Apr 2005Montgomery County Junior and Infants School, Baronswood Way, Colchester, Essex, CO2 9QG
Received 19 Dec 2014St Helena School,Sheepen Road,Colchester,CO3 3LE
Received 15 Feb 2006Lambourne C P School,Hoe Lane,Abridge,Romford,RM4 1AU
Received 3 Feb 2004Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon. CM9 8BQ
Received 13 Sept 2012Rivenhall Airfield, Essex, CO5 9DF
Received 13 Jun 2012The Deanes School,Daws Heath Road,Benfleet,SS7 2TD
Received 29 Mar 2010Land at Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road, Braintree, CO5 9DF
Received 5 May 2023Land at Courtauld Road, Basildon, Essex
Received 28 May 2014Land to the north A12, Trunk road at Cuckoo Farm (Park & Ride),Cuckoo Farm,Boxted Road,Mile End,Colchester,CO4 5HH
Received 28 Jul 2014Colchester Quarry (Stanway Hall),Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 15 Oct 2012Records 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.

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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