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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Mildmay Infants & Nursery,Mildmay Infant and Nursery School,Robin Way,Chelmsford,CM2 8AU
Received 20 Apr 2004Brook End Water Treatment Works, Chelmsford to Langford Water Treatment Works, Maldon
Received 15 Nov 2013Kelvedon Hatch County Primary School,School Road,Kelvedon Hatch,Brentwood,CM15 0DH
Received 17 Jul 2005Ardleigh Highway Depot, Glebe Corner, Harwich Road, Ardleigh, CO7 7LA
Received 24 Mar 2016Children's Home,Le Soken Lodge,274 Harwich Road,Little Clacton,Clacton-on-Sea,CO16 9PY
Received 7 Dec 1998Trinity Road Primary School, Trinity Road, Chelmsford, CM2 6HS
Received 4 Aug 2021Land at Colchester Quarry, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, Essex, CO3 0NN
Received 18 Mar 2026William Martin CofE Infant & Nursery School,Tawneys Road,Harlow,CM18 6PW
Received 27 May 2002Cedar Hall School, Hart Road, Thundersley, Benfleet, Essex, SS7 3UQ
Received 9 Nov 2022Castledon School, Bromfords Drive, Wickford, SS12 0PW
Received 16 Oct 2023Asheldham Quarry, Tillingham Road, Asheldham, CM0 7EA
Received 15 Sept 2017Waltham Holy Cross Junior School,Quendon Drive,Monkswood Avenue,Waltham Abbey,EN9 1LG
Received 29 Aug 2008Ashlyns Farm, Epping Road, North Weald, Epping, CM16 6RZ
Received 10 Aug 2023The King Edmund School,Vaughan Close,Rochford
Received 6 Nov 2003West Wood (Ancient Woodland), East Thundersley, Essex
Received 7 Apr 2017Land at Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall End, WITHAM. CM8 3EX
Received 17 Nov 2017Land off St Luke's Way, Runwell, Wickford
Received 12 Jul 2021Cory Environmental Ltd, Bellhouse Landfill, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 0NN
Received 20 Aug 2013A127/A130 Fairglen Interchange
Received 31 Oct 2022Janet Duke Primary School,Markhams Chase,Laindon,Basildon,SS155LS
Received 8 Feb 2008Lincewood Primary School, Berry Lane, Langdon Hills, Basildon, SS166AZ
Received 8 Jul 2013Alresford Creek, Ford Lane, Alresford, Colchester, CO7 8BG
Received 13 Aug 2010Bradwell Quarry
Received 14 Dec 2018Land adjacent to Rickstones Road, Rivenhall, CM8 2SD
Received 3 Jul 2020Records 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