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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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 Mary's C of E County Primary School,Docwra Road,Kelvedon,Colchester,CO5 9DS
Received 13 Aug 2003Bridgemarsh Care Home, 184 Main Road, Broomfield, Chelmsford, CM1 7AJ
Received 2 Jul 2019Wivenhoe Quarry, Alresford Road, WIVENHOE, CO7 9JU
Received 8 Dec 2017Ashlyns Farm, Epping Road, North Weald, Epping, CM16 6RZ
Received 25 Jun 2019Mackers Metals, Wrexham Road, Laindon, SS15 6PX
Received 31 Mar 201519-21 Bocking End,Braintree,CM7 9AE
Received 2 Mar 2000Lawford C of E Primary School,Long Road,Lawford,Manningtree,CO11 2EF
Received 21 Jul 2005HWRC on Former Landfill Site,Newlands,Canvey
Received 30 Sept 1999Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 15 Jun 1993Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 27 Aug 2025Great Berry Primary School,Forest Glade,Langdon Hills,Basildon,SS166SG
Received 18 Jan 2007Colemans Farm Quarry,Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall End, WITHAM, CM8 3EX
Received 9 Nov 2017Lincewood Primary School,Berry Lane,Langdon Hills,Basildon,SS166AZ
Received 25 Apr 2005Land between River Blackwater and Rivenhall IWMF site, Kelvedon, CO5 9DF
Received 7 Sept 2016Newport Chalk Quarry, Chalk Farm Lane, Newport, Saffron Walden, Essex
Received 14 Sept 2020St Georges New Town Junior School, Canterbury Road, Colchester, CO2 7RU
Received 30 Aug 2019Shorefields School, Holland Road, Clacton On Sea CO15 6HF
Received 17 Jan 2019Glenwood School,Rushbottom Lane,New Thundersley,Benfleet,SS7 4LW
Received 27 Jul 2001Land to the South of Park Farm, Springfield, Chelmsford, Essex
Received 19 Jun 2018Ford Street Bridge,A1124 Ford Street,Aldham,Colchester
Received 28 Jul 200310-11 Herons Court,Cranes Farm Road,Basildon
Received 27 Jan 2003Columbus School and College,Patching Hall Lane,Chelmsford,CM1 4BX
Received 18 Oct 2010Land forming part of Kingsmoor playing field, Parndon Wood Road, Harlow
Received 5 Feb 2018Land at Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Braintree, Essex, Rayne
Received 16 May 2024Records 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