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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Brightlingsea Quarry, Moverons Lane, Brightlingsea, CO7 0SB
Received 4 Jun 2018Ongar Landfill, Mill Lane, High Ongar, CM5 9RG
Received 21 Oct 2024Elmstead Hall, Elmstead, Colchester, Essex. CO7 7EX
Received 24 Jul 2017The Colne Community School, Church Road, Brightlingsea, CO7 0QL
Received 12 Mar 2021Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Canfield, Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 6 Apr 2020Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP, and land east of Sheepcotes Lane
Received 30 Jan 2018Ashlyns Farm, Epping Road, North Weald, Epping, CM16 6RZ
Received 15 Jul 2026The Tyrrells School,Tavistock Road,Springfield,Chelmsford,CM1 6JN
Received 6 May 1999Land to the south of Colchester Main Road, Nr Wivenhoe, Alresford, CO7 8DB
Received 1 Oct 2026Lodge Farm,Old Church Road,East Hanningfield,Chelmsford
Received 20 Mar 2007Land between the A120 and A133, to the east of Colchester and west of Elmstead Market
Received 7 Aug 2026Asheldham Quarry, Southminster Road, Asheldham, Essex, CM0 7DZ
Received 17 Jan 2025Martell's Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh. Colchester, CO7 7RU
Received 9 Nov 2017Css South Quadrant, Fairview Road, Basildon, Essex, SS14 1PW
Received 22 Sept 2022Anaerobic Digestion Plant, Marsh Farm, Vange by-Pass, Vange, SS16 4QG
Received 12 Sept 2017All Saints C of E Primary School,Mill Road,Fordham,Colchester,CO6 3MM
Received 29 May 2001Thorndon Country Park (South),The Avenue,Brentwood,CM13 3RZ
Received 21 Mar 2011Land at Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Braintree, Essex, Rayne
Received 19 Apr 2022Crumps Farm,Stortford Rd,Little Canfield,Great Dunmow,CM6 1SR
Received 12 Oct 2012Curry Farm, Mill End, Bradwell-on-Sea, Maldon, Essex, CM0 7HL
Received 5 Jul 2013Market Field School, School Road, Elmstead, Colchester, CO7 7ET
Received 15 Mar 2016Wethersfield Church Of England Primary School, Silver Street, Wethersfield, Essex, CM7 4BP
Received 26 Feb 2024Boreham Proving Ground,Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 9 Nov 2011Unit 5-7,Hallsford Bridge Ind Est,Stondon Rd,Ongar,CM5 9RB
Received 7 Jan 1992Records 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.

Understanding planning · 13 min read
Read planning drawings, floor plans, elevations and sections. Use labelled diagrams, a drawing comparison table and revision checks to understand a proposal.

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