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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Birch Airfield Composting Services Ltd, Blind Lane, Birch, Nr Colchester, CO5 9XE
Received 21 Jun 2019Montgomery Infant & Junior School, Baronswood Way, Colchester, Essex, CO2 9QG
Received 11 Feb 2014Sandon,Sandon Quarry,Southend Road,Chelmsford,CM2 7TE
Received 20 Apr 1982Burnt Mill Comprehensive School,First Avenue,Harlow,CM20 2NR
Received 16 Jan 2006Land at Courtauld Road, Basildon, Essex
Received 2 Jun 2014Montgomery Infant & Junior School, Baronswood Way, Colchester, Essex, CO2 9QG
Received 17 Jul 2014Nazeing Primary School, Hyde Mead, Nazeing, Waltham Abbey, Essex, EN9 2HS
Received 1 Jun 2022The area of open space east of Forest Road and north of Yew Close, Witham
Received 11 Jan 2019Ramsden Hall School,Ramsden Heath,Billericay,CM11 1HN
Received 26 Sept 2001Widdington Pit, Hollow Road, Widdington, CB11 3SL
Received 6 Jun 2013Unit 13,Rawreth Industrial Estate,Raweth Lane,Rayleigh,SS6 9RL
Received 8 Mar 2006Bromfords School, Grange Avenue, Wickford, Essex SS12 0LZ
Received 29 Jan 2024Hill Farm, RESERVOIR,Crown Lane,Tendring,Clacton-on-Sea,CO16 0BJ
Received 14 Dec 2004Theydon Bois County Primary School,Orchard Drive,Theydon Bois,Epping,CM16 7DF
Received 18 Dec 1997Barnes Farm Infant & Junior Schools,Henniker Gate,Chelmer Village,Chelmsford,CM2 6QH
Received 30 Dec 2003R A Butler Infant School,Stanley Wilson Lodge,Four Acres,Saffron Walden,CB11 3JD
Received 8 Jul 2005Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP
Received 20 May 2021Furtherwick Park, Furtherwick Road, Canvey Island, SS8 7AZ
Received 1 Dec 2011Canewdon Endowed Primary School,Anchor Lane,Canewdon,Rochford,SS4 3PA
Received 26 Jan 2004Land at Parkeston Quay, West Dock Road, Harwich, Essex
Received 18 Nov 2014Rayleigh East WwTW,Connaught Road,Rayleigh,SS6 8NW
Received 29 Nov 2007East of Shire Hill Farm,ShireHill Lane,Saffron Walden
Received 19 May 1992Queen Boudica Primary School,Cowper Crescent,Colchester,CO4 5XT
Received 11 Oct 2010Southminster Cof E Primary School,Burnham Road,Southminster,CM0 7ES
Received 27 Oct 2004Records 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