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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Hedingham School,Yeldham Road,Sible Hedingham,Halstead,CO9 3QH
Received 29 Jul 2004Roding Valley High School, Alderton Hill, Loughton, IG10 3JA
Received 6 Sept 2017Land between Beaulieu Park (north of Generals Lane), Boreham Parish, and Deres Bridge Roundabout on A131, Great & Little Leighs Parish, to the north east of Chelmsford.
Received 7 Dec 2022Land at Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Braintree, Essex, Rayne
Received 2 Jun 2021Barnes Farm Infant & Junior Schools,Henniker Gate,Chelmer Village,Chelmsford,CM2 6QH
Received 21 Sept 2007Glenwood School, Rushbottom Lane, Thundersley, Benfleet, Essex, SS7 4LW
Received 19 Aug 2024St Peters High School,Southminster Road,Burnham on Crouch,CM0 8QB
Received 31 May 2006Elmstead Hall, Elmstead, Colchester, Essex
Received 2 Dec 2021Holland Haven Primary School, Primrose Road, Holland on Sea, CO15 5PP
Received 20 Dec 2017Tiptree Heath CPS,103 Maldon Road,Tiptree,Colchester,CO5 OPG
Received 15 Jan 2001School Buildings,Debden C of E Primary School,High Street,Debden,Saffron Walden,CB11 3LE
Received 22 Sept 2000Land at Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 19 Dec 2024Land to the east of Guilfords, Harlow, Essex, CM17 0HX
Received 18 Oct 2022Old Hall and Generals Farms,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM2 6GF
Received 9 Jan 2009Birch Airfield Composting Site, Birch Airfield Composting Site, Blind Lane, Birch, Nr Colchester, Essex, CO5 9XE
Received 9 Jul 2013Hanson Aggregates, Bulls Lodge Quarry, Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 10 Jun 2013Sutton Ford Bridge,Sutton Road,Rochford
Received 2 Jun 2005Cressing Temple, Witham Road, Cressing, Braintree, CM778PD
Received 4 Mar 2015Sandon Quarry,Southend Road,Chelmsford,CM2 7TE
Received 6 May 2004Elm Hall Cp School, Conrad Road, Witham, CM8 2SD
Received 4 Jun 2013Edith Borthwick School,Fennes Rd,Bocking,Braintree,CM7 5LA
Received 21 Jun 2007Peterswood Infant School,Longwood Primary School,Parringdon Road,Harlow,CM18 7RQ
Received 27 Mar 2007SW Area Education Office,Lee Chapel County Primary School,The Knares,Basildon,SS16 5RU
Received 29 Jul 2004Spring Farm, Frating Road, Great Bromley, Essex, CO7 7JW
Received 22 Apr 2025Records 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.

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