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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Oak View School, Whitehills Road, Loughton, IG10 1TS
Received 12 Jun 2018Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP, and land south of Cuthedge Lane.
Received 24 Jan 2023Colchester Quarry,Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 19 Dec 2011Park Farm, Belsteads Farm Lane, Little Waltham, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 3PX
Received 15 Jun 2023Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Easton, Near Great Dunmow, Essex
Received 12 Dec 2011The Joyce Frankland Academy, Cambridge Road, NEWPORT, CB11 3TR
Received 11 Jun 2018Springfield Primary School,Forsythia Close,Chelmsford,CM1 6XW
Received 14 Jun 2002Pear Tree Mead Academy, Pear Tree Mead, Harlow, Essex, CM18 7BY
Received 28 Oct 2024Frogs Hall Farm, Takeley,Frogs Hall Farm,Bambers Green,Takeley,Bishop's Stortford,CM22 6PE
Received 8 Mar 1999Land at Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall End, Witham, CM8 3EX
Received 24 Sept 2018Sunnymede School, Mons Avenue, Billericay CM11 2HQ
Received Not publishedCressing County Primary School,Braintree Road,Tye Green,Cressing,Braintree,CM77 8JE
Received 26 Mar 2001Chelmsford WRC, Brook End Road, Chelmsford, CM2 6NU
Received 30 Aug 2017Broomfield Farm,Broomfields Farm,Lea Lane,Great Braxted,Witham,CM8 3ER
Received 24 Jan 1995Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 5 Nov 2015Theydon Bois Primary School,Orchard Drive,Theydon Bois,Epping,CM16 7DH
Received 6 Dec 2010Recycling Centre for Household Waste,Hill Way,Roman Road,Mountnessing,Brentwood,CM4 9AU
Received 29 Jul 2011Birchanger Primary School, Birchwood, Birchanger, Bishop's Stortford, CM235QL
Received 29 Nov 2011Land adjacent to Cressing Road,Faulkbourne Farm,Witham
Received 22 May 2007Plot 7, Phoenix Road, Haverhill Business Park, Haverhill, CB9 7AE
Received 6 Jan 2021East Mersea Youth Camp, Rewsalls Lane, East Mersea, Essex, CO5 8SX
Received 30 Jun 2025Land to the south of Colchester Main Road, Alresford, Nr Colchester, C07 8DB
Received 4 Oct 202235 Roach Vale, Colchester, CO4 3YN
Received 11 Jan 2022Land at Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall End, WITHAM, CM8 3EX
Received 26 Jul 2016Records 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.

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