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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Helena Romanes School, Parsonage Downs, Great Dunmow, CM6 2AU
Received 15 Jun 2021Heathlands Primary School, New Church Road, West Bergholt, Colchester, CO6 3JF
Received 9 Mar 2012Sandon Quarry,Sandon Quarry,Southend Road,Chelmsford,CM2 7TE
Received 21 Jul 2000Site east of the farm yard, Anaerobic Digestion plant, Marsh Farm, Vange by-Pass, VANGE, SS16 4QG
Received 8 Aug 2016Colchester Quarry,Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 16 Sept 2015White Court County Primary School,Ennerdale Avenue,London Road,Braintree,CM777UE
Received 22 Dec 2000Bulls Lodge & Park Farm,Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received Not publishedCoopers Beach Hoilday Park,Church Lane,East Mersea,Colchester,CO5 8TN
Received 6 Mar 2012Manuden County Primary School, The Street, Manuden, CM23 1DE
Received 12 Nov 2019Infants School,Stortford Road,Dunmow,CM6 1DW
Received 15 Feb 2005Bulls Lodge Quarry
Received 31 Mar 2010Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon, CM9 8BQ
Received 5 Sept 2017Scripps Farm,Coggeshall,Colchester
Received 30 Jan 2006Newport Chalk Quarry, Chalk Farm Lane, Newport, Saffron Walden, Essex
Received 27 Sept 2022Elsenham Quarry,Hall Rd,Elsenham,Bishops Stortford,CM22 6DJ
Received 23 Sept 2011Land At Archers Fields, Pitsea, Basildon, Essex, SS13 1DH
Received 27 May 2026Mill Lane, High Ongar, CM5 9RG
Received 11 Feb 2014Roxwell Quarry Complex, Boyton Cross, Roxwell, Chelmsford, CM1 4LT
Received 4 Feb 2015Elsenham Quarry, Hall Road, Elsenham, Bishop Stortford, CM226DJ
Received 5 Sept 2014St Peter's Church Of England Primary School, Myneer Park, Coggeshall, Essex, CO6 1YU
Received 14 Sept 2026St Clere's Hall Pit, Main Road, Danbury, CM3 4AS
Received 3 Apr 2020Cressing Temple,Braintree Road,Witham,CM77 8PD
Received 4 Apr 2011Newport Chalk Quarry, Chalk Farm Lane, Newport, Saffron Walden, Essex
Received 28 Apr 2026Colchester Quarry (Bellhouse), Warren Lane, Colchester, Essex
Received 5 Feb 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