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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Stanway Primary School, Villa Road, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 0RH
Received 24 Jan 2013Highwoods Quarry, Stortford Road, Dunmow CM6 1SL
Received 14 Apr 2021B Lodge, Park Road, Little Easton, CM6 2BB
Received 3 Mar 2015Sandon Quarry, Southend Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 7TE
Received 3 Mar 2014East Essex Adult Community College, The Friary, Carmelite Way, Maldon, Essex, CM9 5FJ
Received 7 Jul 2015Patterns Yard,Nayland Road,West Bergholt,Colchester,CO6 3DG
Received 12 Dec 2011Springfield Primary School, Forsythia Close, Springfield, Chelmsford, CM1 6XW
Received 13 Jul 2022Land North of Dry Street, Nethermayne, Basildon, Essex
Received 20 Jun 2023Boreham Proving Ground, Bulls Lodge Quarry, Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 20 Apr 2021Longwood Primary School,Parringdon Road,Harlow,CM18 7RQ
Received 22 Jan 2002Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, CM9 8BQ
Received 26 Feb 2018Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road (A120), Braintree, Essex, CO5 9DF
Received 4 Aug 2015Land at Writtle College,Writtle,Chelmsford,CM1 3SB
Received 16 Nov 2006Land at Colchester Quarry, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, C03 0NN
Received 27 Sept 2021Heathlands C of E Primary School,New Church Road,West Bergholt,Colchester,CO6 3JF
Received 12 May 1999Bradwell Quarry, Coggeshall Road, Bradwell, Near Braintree Essex CM778EP and land south of Bradwell Quarry on part of Rivenhall Airfield and east of Sheepcotes Lane
Received 9 Aug 2012Tiptree Basketworks & Woodyard,Tiptree Basketworks & Woodyard,Grange Road,Tiptree,Colchester,CO5 0QQ
Received 3 Jun 2003Ashlyns Farm, Epping Road, North Weald, Epping, CM16 6RZ
Received 20 Jan 2026Site at Apprentice Drive, New Braiswick Park, Colchester, Essex
Received 14 Mar 2014Beeleigh Mill, Abbey Turning, Maldon, CM9 6LL
Received 22 Feb 2021Plot 37, Land to South of "The Triangle".,South Essex Respite Care Unit,Berry Lane,Langdon Hills,Basildon,SS166HG
Received 24 Feb 1997Colchester Quarry (Bellhouse) Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, Essex, CO3 0NN
Received 4 Sept 2020Gosbecks C P School,Owen Ward Close,Shrub End,Colchester,CO2 9DG
Received 19 Dec 2004Monkwick Junior School, School Road, Colchester, CO2 8NN
Received 5 Mar 2019Records 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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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