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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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 at Asheldham Pit,Southminster Road,Asheldham,Maldon,CM0 7NY
Received 13 Apr 2000Wivenhoe Quarry, Alresford Road, Wivenhoe, Essex, CO7 9JU
Received 9 Jun 2025Land adjacent to Cressing Road,Faulkbourne Farm,Witham
Received 29 Apr 2010Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 22 Aug 2006Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP, and land east of Sheepcotes Lane
Received 20 Apr 2021Land to the North of Hovefields Court, Hovefields Avenue, Basildon, Essex, SS13 1EB
Received 29 Apr 2016Chipping Ongar Library, High Street, Ongar, Essex, CM5 9AB
Received 27 Sept 2022Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, CO7 7RU
Received 30 Jul 2025Theydon Bois County Primary School,Orchard Drive,Theydon Bois,Epping,CM16 7DF
Received 10 May 2002St Giles C E Primary School,Church Street,Gt Maplestead,Halstead,CO9 2RG
Received 3 Sept 2003Basket Works Rural Business Park, Grange Road, Tiptree, CO5 0QQ
Received 26 Apr 2021Essex County Council Waste Transfer Station, Colchester Eastern Bypass, Ardleigh, CO7 7SL
Received 14 Apr 2026Bellhouse Quarry and Landfill Site, Warren Lane, Stanway
Received 13 Feb 2019Martins Landfill Site,Martins & Wellwick Fms,St Osyth,Clacton-on-Sea,CO16 8HN
Received 26 Oct 1995Bulls Lodge Quarry (Boreham Airfield), Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 29 Oct 2024Halstead Library, Bridge Street, Halstead CO9 1HU
Received 19 Apr 2022John Ray Cp Infants School, Notley Road, Braintree, CM7 1HL
Received 26 Feb 2015Land between the A120 and A133, to the east of Colchester and west of Elmstead Market
Received 11 Mar 2026The Plume School, Fambridge Road, Maldon, Essex, CM9 6AB
Received 14 Jul 2025Sandon Quarry,Southend Road,Chelmsford,CM2 7TE
Received Not publishedHill Farm, RESERVOIR,Crown Lane,Tendring,Clacton-on-Sea,CO16 0BJ
Received 12 Aug 2016Alresford County Primary School,Ford Lane,Alresford,Colchester,CO7 8AU
Received 25 Oct 2001Edith Borthwick School,Fennes Rd,Bocking,Braintree,CM7 5LA
Received 21 Jul 2005Bulls Lodge Quarry, Beaulieu Parkway Boreham, Chelmsford Essex, CM3 3HR
Received 7 Apr 2022Records 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