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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Birch Pit,Roundbush Corner,Birch Airfield,Birch,Colchester
Received 17 Aug 1998Unit 13,Rawreth Industrial Estate,Raweth Lane,Rayleigh,SS6 9RL
Received 7 Oct 2005Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Easton, Near Great Dunmow, Essex
Received 12 Dec 2011All Saints C of E Primary School (Highlands Campus),Highlands Drive,Maldon,CM9 6HY
Received 31 Jul 2008Land at Martells's Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex CO7 7RU
Received 17 Jul 2019Vange Primary School,London Road,Vange,Basildon
Received Not publishedCobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon, CM9 8BQ
Received 26 Sept 2017Land at Colchester Quarry, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, Essex, CO3 0NN
Received 23 Mar 202174 East Hill,Colchester
Received 19 Oct 1998Castledon School,Bromfords Drive,Wickford,SS12 0PW
Received 18 Jul 2008Colchester Quarry (Bellhouse) Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, Essex, CO3 0NN
Received 15 Jan 2026Land at St Osyth Quarry, Colchester Rd, St Osyth,Martins & Wellwick Fms,St Osyth,Clacton-on-Sea,CO16 8HN
Received 26 Mar 1997Land at: Colemans Farm Quarry, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall, Witham, Essex, CM8 3EX
Received 5 Feb 2024Blackwater Aggregates, Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, Braintree, CM778EP
Received 6 Mar 2012John Ray Junior School,Notley High School,Notley Road,Braintree,CM7 1HL
Received 15 Jun 2005Elm Hall Cp School, Conrad Road, Witham, CM8 2SD
Received 14 Jun 2013Park Farm, Belsteads Farm Lane, Chelmsford Garden Community, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 3PX
Received 24 Apr 2025Former Little Parndon Infant School,Little Parndon Respite Care Unit (Little Parndon Primary School),Park Mead,Harlow,CM20 1PU
Received 31 May 2005Gosbecks C P School,Owen Ward Close,Shrub End,Colchester,CO2 9DG
Received 17 Dec 2009The Limes, 93 New Century Road, Laindon, Basildon, SS156AQ
Received 27 Jan 2014Notley High School,Notley Road,Braintree,CM7 1HL
Received 29 Jul 2004Green Acres,Old Packards Lane,Wormingford,Colchester,CO6 3AH
Received 22 Apr 2008Bishop William Ward School, 22, Coach Road, Great Horkesley, Colchester, CO6 4AT
Received 18 Sept 2012Castledon School,Bromfords Drive,Wickford,SS12 0PW
Received 29 Nov 2006Records 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