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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Whitmore County Infant School,Whitmore Way,Basildon,SS14 2TP
Received 26 Feb 2010Halstead Anaerobic Digestion Facility, Bluebridge Industrial Estate, Halstead, Essex, CO9 2SZ
Received 24 Oct 2024White Notley CE Primary School,Vicarage Avenue,White Notley,Witham,CM8 1SA
Received 21 Aug 2002Copford CE (V/C) Primary School, School Road, Copford, C06 1BX
Received 19 Jul 2022Units 10-11, Archers Field Close, Burnt Mills Industrial Estate, Basildon, SS13 1DW
Received 9 Feb 2015Newport Chalk Quarry, Chalk Farm Lane, Newport, Saffron Walden, Essex
Received 9 Apr 2025Fawbert & Barnards (undl) Primary School, London Road, Harlow, CM170DA
Received 10 Mar 2017Chipping Hill Primary School, Owers Road, Witham, Essex, CM8 1FR
Received 4 Dec 2015Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road (A120), Braintree, Essex, CO5 9DF
Received 4 Aug 2015St Peter's Church Of England Primary School, Myneer Park, Coggeshall, Essex, CO6 1YU
Received 14 Sept 2026Tesco Stores Ltd,Stortford Road,Dunmow,CM6 1SF
Received 19 Jun 2009Tile Kiln Farm Sandpit, Sible Hedingham,Tile Kiln Quarry, (Foxborough Hills),Sible Hedingham,Halstead
Received 2 Feb 1998Land at: Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 14 Apr 2022Tile Kiln Farm, Sible Hedingham, Halstead, Essex, CO9 1UP
Received 23 Feb 2024The Coombewood Centre,Websters Way,Rayleigh
Received 19 Jan 2005Bradwell Quarry,Coggeshall Road,Bradwell,Braintree,CM77 8EP
Received 19 May 2005Woodham Walter C Of E Primary School, The Street, Woodham Walter, Maldon, CM9 6RF
Received 10 Jan 2012Lexden Springs School, Former Heath School, Winstree Road, Colchester, C03 0PZ
Received 4 Jul 2019Southminster sewage treatment works, Goldsands Road, Southminster, Maldon, Essex
Received 26 Jul 2012Chancellor Park Primary School,Brook End Road South,Chelmsford,CM2 6PT
Received 27 Apr 2010Nazeing Quarry,Green Lane,Nazeing,Waltham Abbey,EN10 6TD
Received 11 Oct 2010Waste Transfer Station, Winsford Way, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM2 5AA
Received 2 Nov 2016Grange Road,Tiptree,Colchester,CO5 0QQ
Received 3 Jun 2011Chipping Hill Primary School, Owers Road, Witham, CM8 1FR
Received 8 Jun 2015Records 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