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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Cobbs Farm, Goldhanger, Maldon
Received 27 Mar 2008Bradwell Quarry, Coggeshall Road, Bradwell, Near Braintree, Essex, CM778EP and land south of Bradwell Quarry on part of Rivenhall Airfield and east of Sheepcoates Lane
Received 6 Mar 2012Goodman House, Station Approach, Harlow, CM20 2ET
Received 14 Sept 2021Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 10 Oct 2014Widdington Pit, Hollow Road, Widdington, CB11 3SL
Received 25 Jun 2021Church Farm, Alresford,Alresford Creek,Ford Lane,Alresford,Colchester,CO7 8BG
Received 8 Jan 1998Land at Sheepcotes Farm, Sheepcotes Lane, Little Waltham, CM3 3LU
Received 24 Nov 2021Dollymans Farm, Doublegate Lane, Rawreth, SS11 8UD
Received 14 May 2018The Plume School, Fambridge Road, Maldon, Essex, CM9 6AB
Received 16 Jul 2025Finchingfield CofE Primary School,Vicarage Road,Finchingfield,Braintree,CM7 4LD
Received 11 Jun 1997Bulls Lodge Quarry, Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 3HR
Received 27 Nov 2020Layer De La Haye C of E Primary School,High Road,Layer de la Haye,Colchester,CO2 0DS
Received 28 Mar 2003Wallasea Island, Rochford, SS4 2HD
Received 5 Feb 2015Land between the A120 and A133, to the east of Colchester and west of Elmstead Market
Received 16 Sept 2024Waste Transfer Station, Winsford Way, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM2 5AA
Received 20 May 2019Sandon Quarry, Southern Road, Howe Green, CM2 7TE
Received 15 Mar 2017Woodlands School,Takeley End,Kingswood,Basildon,SS165BA
Received 31 Jan 2012St Benedict's College,Norman Way,Colchester,CO3 3US
Received 25 Jul 2002Buckhurst Hill Community Primary School,Lower Queens Road,Buckhurst Hill,IG9 6DS
Received 29 May 1998Crumps Farm,Stortford Rd,Little Canfield,Great Dunmow,CM6 1SR
Received 12 Oct 2012Wells Park School, School Lane, Chigwell, Essex, IG7 6NN
Received 10 Dec 2025Alresford County Primary School,Ford Lane,Alresford,Colchester,CO7 8AU
Received 17 Dec 2009Trinity Road Primary School, Trinity Road, Chelmsford, CM2 6HS
Received 24 Feb 2022Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP
Received 3 Aug 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