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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Land adjacent to Taylors Farm,Takeley,Bishop's Stortford,CM22 6LY
Received 25 Jun 2008Curry Farm Pit, Mill End, Bradwell-On-Sea, CM0 7HL
Received 6 Oct 2018Yard 1 & 2,Runwood Road,Charfleets Ind Est,Canvey,SS8 0PL
Received 19 Mar 2007Sandon Park and Ride, Maldon Road, Chelmsford
Received 28 Nov 2023Finchingfield Bridge, The Green, Finchingfield, Essex, CM7 4JS
Received 22 Dec 2022Land off St Luke's Way, Runwell, Wickford
Received 12 Jul 2021Roach Vale Primary School,Roach Vale,Colchester,CO4 3YN
Received 21 Oct 2004Tiptree Basketworks & Woodyard,Grange Road,Tiptree,Colchester,CO5 0QQ
Received 26 Sept 2002Luxborough Lane 2,Luxborough Lane,Chigwell,IG7 6BJ
Received Not publishedFormer Alderman Blaxhill Secondary School site, Paxman Avenue, Colchester, Essex CO2 9DQ
Received 13 Mar 201819, Harwich Road, Ardleigh, Colchester, CO7 7LT
Received 24 Jul 2014Land at Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Braintree, Essex, Rayne
Received 2 Jun 2021Limes Farm Infant School and Nursery,Limes Avenue,Chigwell,IG7 5LP
Received 3 Jul 2009Ravens Academy, Nayland Drive, Clacton on Sea, CO16 8TZ
Received 14 Aug 2017Former Kores Nordic Site,West Road,Harlow,CM20 2AL
Received 14 May 2014Broomgrove County Infant School,Broome Grove,Wivenhoe,Colchester,CO7 9QB
Received 29 Jan 1998East Mersea Youth Camp, Rewsalls Lane, East Mersea CO5 8SX
Received 20 May 2020Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 23 Jul 2003Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon, CM9 8BQ
Received 2 Feb 2017Frobisher Primary & Nursery School,Frobisher Drive,Jaywick,Clacton on Sea,CO15 2QH
Received 30 Apr 2009Brightside County Junior And Infant School, Brightside, Billericay, CM12 0LE
Received 2 Nov 2018Land at Dollymans Farm, Doublegate Lane, Rawreth, Wickford, SS11 8UD
Received 2 May 2023White Notley CE Primary School,Vicarage Avenue,White Notley,Witham,CM8 1SA
Received 31 Jul 2003Bradwell Quarry
Received 14 Dec 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