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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Curry Farm,Mill End,Bradwell-on-Sea,Maldon,CM0 7HL
Received 18 Sept 2009Dunton Fields Early Years Centre, Land off Warwick Crescent, Laindon, Basildon, SS15 6LW
Received 23 Dec 2021All Saints C of E Primary School (Highlands Campus),Highlands Drive,Maldon,CM9 6HY
Received 31 Mar 2008Wyburns Primary School, Nevern Road, Rayleigh, SS6 7PE
Received 22 Jun 2018Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon. CM9 8BQ
Received 26 Nov 2012Colchester Adult Community College,Greyfriars Adult Community College,High Street,Colchester
Received 8 Aug 2005Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Canfield, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 14 Oct 2025The Sweyne Park School, Sir Walter Raleigh Drive Rayleigh, SS6 9BZ
Received 14 Sept 2020Theydon Bois County Primary School,Orchard Drive,Theydon Bois,Epping,CM16 7DF
Received 29 Jul 1998Sandon Quarry, Southend Road, Chelmsford, Sandon, Howe Green, CM2 7TE
Received 16 Aug 2021Land at Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Braintree, Essex, Rayne
Received 16 Apr 2024James Waste Management, Purdeys Industrial Estate, Brickfields Way, Rochford, SS4 1NB
Received 10 Jan 2020Land at: Colemans Farm Quarry, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall, Witham, Essex, CM8 3EX
Received 5 Feb 2024Doddinghurst County Infant School,Church Lane,Doddinghurst,Brentwood,CM15 0NJ
Received 27 Oct 1998Ugley Landfill Site,Cambridge Road,Stansted Mountfitchet,CM22 6HT
Received 28 Jan 2004Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP
Received 20 May 2021Land at: Elmstead Hall, Elmstead, Colchester, Essex
Received 19 Dec 2023Montgomery Infant School And Nursery, Baronswood Way, Colchester, Essex, CO2 9QG
Received 10 Jul 2023Crays Hill Primary School,London Road,Crays Hill,Billericay,CM11 2UZ
Received 29 Jan 2009Powers Hall Junior School,Spa Road,Witham,CM8 1NA
Received 21 Mar 2002Martells Industrial Estate,Slough Lane,Ardleigh,Colchester,CO7 7RU
Received 30 Apr 2007Elmstead Hall, Tye Road, Elmstead, Colchester, Essex
Received 29 Aug 2025Honeylands Farm,Little Tey,Marks Tey,Colchester,CO6 1HU
Received 13 Aug 2008Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project, Creeksea Ferry Road, WALLASEA ISLAND, SS4 2HD
Received 1 Nov 2018Records 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