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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Little Parndon Respite Care Unit (Little Parndon Primary School),Park Mead,Harlow,CM20 1PU
Received 15 Jul 2005Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Canfield, Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 23 May 2021Vacant Land, Circular Road East, Colchester
Received 17 Jun 2013Asheldham Quarry, Southminster Road, Asheldham, Essex, CM0 7DZ
Received 20 Aug 2024Canewdon Endowed Primary School,Anchor Lane,Canewdon,Rochford,SS4 3PA
Received 18 May 2006Clacton County High School, Walton Road, Clacton On Sea, CO15 6DZ
Received 20 Aug 2021Land at Wallasea Island, Rochford, SS4 2HD
Received 8 Apr 2015Adult Community Learning Centre,Spinks Lane,Witham,CM8 1EP
Received 2 Nov 2005Ugley Landfill Site, Cambridge Road, Ugley, Essex, CM22 6HT
Received 10 Feb 2026Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, BRADWELL, CM77 8EP
Received 1 Aug 2017Glenwood School,Rushbottom Lane,New Thundersley,Benfleet,SS7 4LW
Received 8 Apr 2011Land at Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road, Braintree, CO5 9DF
Received 27 Jul 2022Sandon Quarry,Southend Road,Chelmsford,CM2 7TE
Received 2 Sept 2014Land at: Asheldham Quarry, Southminster Road, Asheldham, Essex, CM0 7DZ
Received 23 Aug 2023Ugley Landfill Site, Cambridge Road, Ugley, CM22 6HT
Received 13 Jul 2020Mill Lane, High Ongar, CM5 9RG
Received 11 Feb 2014Sandon Quarry,Sandon Quarry,Southend Road,Chelmsford,CM2 7TE
Received 7 Oct 1994Land at Rayne Quarry, Broadfield Farm, Dunmow Road, Rayne, Braintree, CM77 6SA
Received 24 Feb 2017Ugley Landfill Site, Cambridge Road, CM22 6HT
Received 3 Mar 2026Ashlyns Farm, Epping Road, North Weald, Epping, CM16 6RZ
Received 10 Jan 2023The Tabor High School - Upper School,Panfield Lane,Braintree,CM7 6QA
Received 25 Jan 2002Lionmede Family Centre,216 Springfield Road,Chelmsford
Received Not publishedA131 Notley By Pass
Received 10 Nov 2005Nazeing Quarry,Green Lane,Nazeing,Waltham Abbey,EN10 6TD
Received 2 Mar 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