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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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: 12 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
St Marys Primary School,High Stile,Dunmow,CM6 1EB
Received 30 Jun 2000Land between the A120 and A133, to the east of Colchester and west of Elmstead Market
Received 22 May 2024Montgomery Infant & Junior School, Baronswood Way, Colchester, Essex, CO2 9QG
Received 17 Jul 2014Bradwell Quarry,Coggeshall Road,Bradwell,Braintree,CM77 8EP
Received 5 Jul 2010Ardleigh St Mary's CofE Primary School,Colchester Road,Ardleigh,Colchester
Received 6 Nov 2007Land to the east of Guilfords, Harlow, Essex, CM17 0HX
Received 18 Oct 2022Land North of Apprentice Drive, New Braiswick Park, Colchester
Received 15 May 2015Land at Courtauld Road, Basildon, Essex
Received 19 Aug 2013Land at: Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Braintree, Essex, Rayne
Received 8 Apr 2022Dr Walkers CE Primary School,Walker Avenue,Fyfield,Ongar,CM5 0RG
Received 22 Sept 200337-39 HIGH STREET - now Emmanuel Church,Walton on the Naze,CO14 8EB
Received 28 Sept 1998Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Easton, Near Great Dunmow, Essex
Received 12 Dec 2011Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Canfield, Dunmow, CM6 1SL
Received 15 Aug 2016Woodhouse Lane, Kelvedon, CO5 9DF
Received 22 Mar 2023Kents Hill County Junior & Infants Schools,Kents Hill Road,South Benfleet,Benfleet,SS7 5PS
Received 21 Oct 2011Land to the west of, & adjacent to, Cambridge Road, just to south of the River Stort and Old Road, Cambridge Road, Harlow, CM20 2EU
Received 1 Apr 2021Edith Borthwick School,Fennes Rd,Bocking,Braintree,CM7 5LA
Received 4 Jul 2007The Walter Boyce Centre, Warley Hill, Warley, Essex, CM13 3AP
Received 28 Jul 2015Beaulieu Park Education Campus site, Beaulieu, Chelmsford
Received 9 Mar 2018Springfield Parish Centre, St. Augustines Way, Chelmsford, CM1 6GX
Received 24 Aug 2012Essex Fire & Rescue Service Building 212, MDP Wethersfield, Braintree,Essex Fire & Rescue Service Building 212,MDP Wethersfield,Braintree
Received 4 Jun 1997White Bridge County Primary School, Greensted Road, Loughton, Essex, IG10 3DR
Received 7 Aug 2023Prettygate Junior School,Plume Avenue,Colchester,CO3 4PH
Received 26 Oct 2009Bellhouse, Stanway,Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 16 Jun 1982Records 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
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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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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