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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Coopersale & Theydon Garnon C E P School,Brickfield Road,Coopersale Common,Epping,CM16 7QX
Received 14 Feb 2012Ravens Academy, Nayland Drive, Clacton on Sea, CO16 8TZ
Received 9 May 2017Crumps Farm, Stortford Road, Little Canfield, Dunmow, CM6 1SR
Received 21 Aug 2013Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP, and land south of Cuthedge Lane.
Received 1 May 2026Curry Farm,Mill End,Bradwell-on-Sea,Maldon,CM0 7HL
Received 4 Nov 2009Ashlyns Farm, Epping Road, North Weald, Epping, CM16 6RZ
Received 7 Feb 2020Church Lane,Marks Tey,Colchester,CO6 1LN
Received 24 Jun 2008Land at Sheepcotes Farm, Sheepcotes Lane, Little Waltham, CM3 3LU
Received 27 Jan 2021Stebbing Primary School, High Street, Stebbing, Dunmow, CM6 3SH
Received 12 Nov 2018Land at Wallasea Island, Essex
Received 9 Sept 2012Highwood Quarry, Little Canfield, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 3 May 2019Woodlands School,Takeley End,Kingswood,Basildon,SS165BA
Received 14 Mar 2012Hare Street Primary School and Nursery,Little Grove Field,Harlow,CM19 4BU
Received 26 Jul 2006Land at Weald Place Farm, Duck Lane, Thornwood, Essex
Received 28 Jun 2013Great Berry Primary School,Forest Glade,Langdon Hills,Basildon,SS166SG
Received 14 Sept 2011Hallsford Bridge Ind Est.,Unit 5-7,Hallsford Bridge Ind Est,Stondon Rd,Ongar,CM5 9RB
Received 1 Feb 1995King John School,Shipwrights Drive,Thundersley,Benfleet,SS7 1RQ
Received 11 Mar 2003Basildon Integrated Support Unit,High Road,Langdon Hills,Basildon,SS16 6HG
Received 7 Dec 2006Lufkins Farm, Great Bentley Road, Frating, CO7 7HN
Received 31 Jan 2025Land to the south of Terminus Drive, Pitsea Hall Lane, Pitsea, SS16 4UH
Received 26 Aug 2016Boreham Proving Ground, Bulls Lodge Quarry, Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 9 Jun 2022Langenhoe Community Primary School, Bracken Way, Abberton, Colchester, CO5 7PG
Received 23 Jun 2014Noak Bridge Primary School,Coppice Lane,Basildon,SS154JS
Received 30 Jul 2003St Margarets C Of E Primary School Church Lane Toppesfield CO9 4DS
Received 23 Apr 2021Records 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