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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Lakelands Primary School, Land off Wagtail Mews, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 8AL
Received 18 Nov 2019Land at Dollymans Farm, Doublegate Lane, Rawreth, Wickford, SS11 8UD
Received 22 May 2023Vange Primary School, London Road, Vange, Essex, SS16 4QA
Received 27 May 2025Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project Creeksea Ferry Road Wallasea Island SS4 2HD
Received 4 Sept 2020Danbury Park County Primary School,Well Lane,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM3 4AB
Received 6 Feb 2003Land at Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road, Braintree, CO5 9DF
Received 3 Apr 2024Wivenhoe Quarry, Alresford Road, Wivenhoe, Colchester, Essex. CO7 9JU
Received 13 Dec 2018Bellhouse Landfill Site,Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 16 Dec 1994Wallasea Island, Rochford, SS4 2HD
Received 11 Aug 2013Harlow Integrated Support Unit,Harlow Integrated Support Centre (Former Commonside Special School),Commonside Road,Harlow,CM18 7EZ
Received 4 Jan 2007Veolia E S Uk Ltd, Pitsea Hall Lane, Pitsea, Basildon, SS164UH
Received 9 May 2012Former Tollesbury Youth Centre,Elysian Gardens,Tollesbury,Maldon,CM9 8QN
Received 23 Jun 2000West Horndon Primary School,Thorndon Avenue,West Horndon,Brentwood,CM13 3TR
Received 25 Feb 2002Roxwell Quarry,Roxwell Landfill,Chignal St James,Chelmsford,CM1 4TZ
Received 18 Feb 2003Former Heath School, Winstree Road, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 5QE
Received 7 Jun 2018Rickling C of E Controlled Primary School,Saffron Walden
Received 9 May 2003Trinity Road Primary School, Trinity Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 6HS
Received 15 Jul 2022Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Canfield, Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 15 Feb 2021Birchanger Primary School, Birchwood, Birchanger CM23 5QL
Received 13 Apr 2020A133 Central Colchester,Colchester
Received 9 Apr 2008Belsteads Farm,Essex Regiment Way,Broomfield,Chelmsford,CM3 3PR
Received 17 Mar 1986Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, Essex, CM77 8EP
Received 20 Mar 2023Barnes Farm Infant & Junior Schools,Henniker Gate,Chelmer Village,Chelmsford,CM2 6QH
Received 16 Sept 2004Alderton Junior and Infant School,Alderton Hall Lane,Loughton,IG10 3HE
Received 14 Feb 2007Records 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