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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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: 13 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Unit 3, Childerditch Hall Drive, Little Warley, Brentwood, CM13 3HD
Received 27 Jan 2012Blackleys Quarry, (Essex Show Ground),Great Leighs,Chelmsford,CM3 1QB
Received 16 Jan 2003Alton Park County Junior and The Leas Schools,Alton Park Road,Clacton on Sea,CO15 1DL
Received 29 Jan 1998Southminster Hall,Goldsands Road,Southminster,CM0 7JR
Received 11 Aug 2010Mill Lane, High Ongar, CM5 9RG
Received 11 Feb 2014Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Canfield, Dunmow, CM6 1SL
Received 15 Aug 2016The Heath School,Winstree Road,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 5QE
Received 21 Dec 1996William de Ferrers School,The William de Ferrers School,Trinity Square,South Woodham Ferrers,Chelmsford,CM3 5JU
Received 14 Aug 2009Witham Adult Community Learning Centre, Spinks Lane, Witham, Essex, CM8 1EP
Received 11 Feb 2022Arnolds Farm Business Centre, 221 Ongar Road, Lambourne, Romford, Essex, RM4 1RH
Received 19 Jul 2024Friars Grove Infant School,Upland Drive,Colchester,CO4 0PZ
Received 5 Nov 1998Green Acres,Old Packards Lane,Wormingford,Colchester,CO6 3AH
Received 15 Jan 2013Essex Regiment Way,Broomfield,Chelmsford,CM3 3PR
Received 12 Sept 2006Land at Colchester Quarry, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, Essex, CO3 0NN
Received 11 Nov 2020Green Lane, Nazeing,Nazeing Quarry,Green Lane,Nazeing,Waltham Abbey,EN10 6TD
Received 15 May 2000Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Rayne, Braintree, Essex, CM77 6SB
Received 19 May 2023Pitsea Landfill Site, Pitsea Hall Lane, Pitsea, SS16 4UH
Received 5 Dec 2017Pitsea Landfill site,Pitsea Hall Lane,Pitsea,Basildon, SS16 4UH
Received 25 Feb 2011Land at Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 23 Apr 2024Colchester Quarry, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 0NN
Received 22 Mar 2021Eastern Waste Disposal Yard, Morses Lane Industrial Estate,Morses Lane Industrial Estate,Brightlingsea,CO7 0SD
Received 16 Jun 2000Springfield Primary School, Forsythia Close, Chelmsford, CM1 6XW
Received 1 Jul 2015Wilson Marriage Centre.,Barrack Street,Colchester,CO1 2LR
Received 21 Jul 2003Elmstead Hall, Elmstead, Colchester, Essex. CO7 7EX
Received 8 Sept 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.

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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