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.
6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn. Received dates in our records: 12 Dec 1938 to 5 Oct 2026. Most recent record check: 14 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Writtle Wick Family Centre,62 Chignal Road,Chelmsford,CM1 2JB
Received 24 Feb 2004Unit B, 39, Robjohns Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 3AG
Received 13 Mar 2015Royal Oak Quarry, Woodham Mortimer, Essex
Received 2 Dec 2013Langham County Primary School,School Road,Langham,Colchester,CO4 5BB
Received 10 Aug 2007Harlow Rail Depot,Station Approach,Harlow,CM20 2EL
Received 17 Jun 2002Crown Quarry (Wick Farm), Old Ipswich Road, Ardleigh, CO7 7QR
Received 3 Jun 2025Mayflower School,Stock Road,Billericay,CM12 0RT
Received 9 Feb 2000Hilltop County Infants & Junior School,Hill Avenue,Wickford,SS11 8LT
Received 23 Mar 2010The Causeway, Maldon, Essex, CM9 4LJ
Received 27 Mar 2014Felsted Primary School,Watch House Green,Felsted,Dunmow,CM6 3EB
Received 14 Apr 2000Green Acres,Old Packards Lane,Wormingford,Colchester,CO6 3AH
Received 8 Nov 2012Land at Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell on Sea, Southminster, Essex, CM0 7HQ
Received 15 Jul 2020Great Holts Farm,Gt Holts & Wallaces Farm,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3AU
Received 28 Apr 2000Bulls Lodge Quarry, Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 3HR
Received 23 Dec 2025Springfield Parish Centre, St. Augustines Way, Chelmsford, CM1 6GX
Received 24 Aug 2012John Ray Cp Infants School, Notley Road, Braintree, CM7 1HL
Received 14 Oct 2014Greensted Junior School,Greensted Junior School,Kirby Road,Basildon,SS141RX
Received 26 Sept 2001Outdoor Pursuits Centre, Burntmill Lane, Harlow, CM20 2QS
Received 19 Oct 2020Gilden Way and Sheering Road, public highways and land between, Sheering Road and M11 Motorway
Received 26 Jan 2017Northwick Road roundabout on Roscommon Way to Thorney Bay Road,Roscommon Way,Canvey
Received 25 Jul 2011Colbayns High School,Pathfields Road,Clacton on Sea,CO15 3JL
Received 6 Jun 2003Land to the South of Park Farm, Springfield, Chelmsford, Essex
Received 6 Feb 2019MartinsLandfill Site,Martins & Wellwick Fms,St Osyth,Clacton-on-Sea,CO16 8HN
Received 25 Sept 1995Thundersley, County Infant School, Dark lane, Thundersley, Benfleet SS7 3PT,Thundersley Infant School,Dark Lane,Thundersley,Benfleet,SS7 3PT
Received 11 Nov 2005Records 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