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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon, CM9 8BQ
Received 12 May 2025St Andrews CofE Primary School, School Green Lane, North Weald, Epping, Essex, CM16 6EH
Received 18 Aug 2016Colchester Sewage Treatment,Colchester WwTW,Haven Road,The Hythe,Colchester,CO2 8HT
Received 18 Sept 1998Widdington Pit, Hollow Road, Widdington, CB11 3SL
Received 11 Jan 2016Land at Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 26 Feb 2020Woodham Ley Primary School,Rushbottom Lane,New Thundersley,Benfleet,SS7 4DN
Received 14 May 2009Land north of Bluebridge Industrial Estate, Halstead, Essex
Received 9 Feb 2015Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Rayne, Braintree, Essex, CM77 6SB
Received 14 Nov 2024Clarance House,22 Watling Street,Thaxted,Dunmow,CM6 2PJ
Received 28 Dec 2007Burnham on Crouch County Primary School,Dunkirk Road,Burnham on Crouch,CM0 8LG
Received 3 Feb 2010Mackers Metals, Wrexham Road, Laindon, Essex, SS15 6PX
Received 9 Jul 2015Melbourne Park Primary School,Melbourne Avenue,Chelmsford,CM1 2DX
Received 30 Sept 2008Chelmsford North East Bypass - Land between Beaulieu Park (north of Generals Lane), Boreham Parish, and Deres Bridge Roundabout on A131, Great & Little Leighs Parish
Received 11 Feb 2020Bishops Park College,Jaywick Lane,Clacton on Sea,CO16 8BE
Received 8 Apr 2003Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 11 Sept 2019Crumps Farm,Stortford Rd,Little Canfield,Great Dunmow,CM6 1SR
Received 4 Sept 2007Stansted to Braintree A120
Received 4 Aug 2000Ambulance Station, Chelmsford Road, Dunmow, CM6 1LW
Received 12 Mar 2013Saffron Walden Library,Market Place,Saffron Walden,CB10 1HR
Received 19 Jan 2009Land between the A120 and A133, to the east of Colchester and west of Elmstead Market
Received 3 Aug 2020Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road (A120), Braintree, Essex, CO5 9DF
Received 4 Aug 2015Land at Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Braintree, Essex, Rayne
Received 16 May 2023Northwick Park Primary School, Third Avenue, Canvey Island, Essex, SS8 9SU
Received 30 May 2017Wivenhoe Quarry, Alresford Road, Wivenhoe, CO7 9JU
Received 20 Mar 2020Records 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