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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Castledon School, Bromfords Drive, Wickford, SS12 0PW
Received 16 Oct 2023Blackley Quarry, and land to the north east and north west of the existing quarry, A131, Great Leighs, CM3 1QP
Received 25 Sept 2026Lee Chapel County Primary School, The Knares, Basildon, SS16 5RU
Received 20 Feb 1998Hilltop County Infants & Junior School,Hill Avenue,Wickford,SS11 8LT
Received 22 May 2007Weald Park Visitors Centre, Weald Country Park, Weald Road, South Weald Essex, CM14 5QS
Received 6 Oct 2023Burnham on Crouch County Primary School,Dunkirk Road,Burnham on Crouch,CM0 8LG
Received 17 May 2000Boxted Bridge, Boxted, Essex, CO4 5TB
Received 13 Dec 2021Crumps Farm,Stortford Rd,Little Canfield,Great Dunmow,CM6 1SR
Received 17 Oct 2008Purleigh County Primary School,Pump Lane,Purleigh,Chelmsford,CM3 6PJ
Received 21 Sept 2001Crown Quarry (Wick Farm), Old Ipswich Road, Ardleigh, CO7 7QR
Received 9 May 2024Greenacres, Warehouse, Packards Lane, Wormingford, Essex, CO6 3AH
Received 8 Oct 2025Wivenhoe,Wivenhoe Quarry,Alresford Road,Wivenhoe,Colchester,CO7 9JY
Received 2 Apr 2019The King John School, Shipwrights Drive, Benfleet, SS7 1RQ
Received 30 Jan 2015Ramsden Hall School (Langham site),School Road,Langham,Colchester,C04 5PA
Received 10 Dec 2010Widdington Pit, Hollow Road, Widdington, Essex, CB11 3SL
Received 15 Sept 2023Land off St Luke's Way, Runwell, Wickford
Received 18 Oct 2021Royal Oak (East),Royal Oak Quarry,Chelmsford Rd,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM9 6TJ
Received 9 Sept 1996Basildon Sewage Treatment Works,Courtauld Road,Basildon,SS13 1DB
Received 1 Sept 2010Greyfriars Adult Community College,High Street,Colchester
Received Not publishedShorefields School,114 Holland Rd,Clacton on Sea,CO15 6HF
Received 19 Feb 2010Chelmer Valley High School,Court Road,Broomfield,Chelmsford,CM1 7ER
Received 13 Jul 2010Canvey Island Water Recycling Centre, off Thames Road
Received 2 Jun 2017The Limes, 93 New Century Road, Laindon, Basildon, SS156AQ
Received 27 Jan 2014Oakwood Crafts 2,Plough Corner,Harwich Road,Little Clacton,Clacton-on-Sea,CO16 9ND
Received 24 Jun 2002Records 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.

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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