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6,824 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
West Hatch High School, High Road, CHIGWELL, IG7 5BT
Received 13 Mar 2018Units 10 - 11, Archers Fields Close, Burnt Mills Industrial Estate, Basildon, SS13 1DW
Received 9 Feb 2015Breaker’s Yard,Cockett Wick Lane,St Osyth,Clacton-on-Sea,CO16 8SE
Received 12 Feb 2010Villa Pit, Cockaynes, Alresford,Villa Farm (Cockaynes Wood),Alresford,Colchester,CO7 9JZ
Received 2 Jun 1999Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, Essex, CM77 8EP
Received 19 Mar 2015Richard De Clare Primary School,Parsonage Street,Halstead,CO9 2JT
Received 16 Jan 1998Css South Quadrant, Fairview Road, Basildon, Essex, SS14 1PW
Received 28 Apr 2023Ashlyns Organic Farm,Epping Road,North Weald,Epping,CM16 6RZ
Received 28 Mar 2011S.E. Corner Great Holts Farm,Gt Holts & Wallaces Farm,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3AU
Received 21 May 1997Phoenix Primary School, Leinster Road, Basildon, SS155NQ
Received 23 Feb 2016Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP, and land south of Cut Hedge Lane
Received 20 May 2014A13/A130 Sadlers Farm Junction,London Road,Basildon
Received 25 Oct 2013Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 15 May 2013Silver End Primary School,School Road,Silver End,Witham
Received 26 Oct 2006Land north of Bluebridge Industrial Estate, Halstead, Essex
Received 24 Jan 2014Shalford Primary School,Church End,Shalford,Braintree,CM7 5EZ
Received 9 Jan 1997Kingswode Hoe School, Sussex Road, Colchester, CO3 3QJ
Received 17 Sept 2018Arnolds Farm Business Centre, 221 Ongar Road, Lambourne, Romford, Essex, RM4 1RH
Received 19 Jul 2024Roxwell C of E (Controlled) Primary School,The Street,Roxwell,Chelmsford
Received 20 Jun 2006Chase Lane Primary School & Nursery,Chase Lane Primary School,Chase Lane,Dovercourt,Harwich,CO12 4NB
Received 16 Sept 2005Trinity Road Primary School,Trinity Road,Chelmsford,CM2 6HS
Received 19 Dec 200112 Patricia Gardens, Billericay
Received Not publishedDanbury Outdoors, Well Lane, Danbury, CHELMSFORD, CM3 4AB
Received 26 Jul 2017Montgomery Infant & Junior School, Baronswood Way, Colchester, Essex, CO2 9QG
Received 17 Jul 2014Records 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