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.
6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Land allocated for a new primary school under Land South of Limebrook Way and East of Maldon Wick, Maldon, Essex
Received 5 Apr 2023Greater Beaulieu Park, White Hart Lane, Springfield, Chelmsford, Essex
Received 17 Dec 2021Sandon Quarry,Sandon Quarry,Southend Road,Chelmsford,CM2 7TE
Received 2 Feb 1998Little Easton Airfield,Little Easton,Dunmow,CM6 2BB
Received 17 Mar 2003Hazelmere C.I & J.S,Hawthorn Avenue,Greenstead Estate,Colchester,CO4 3JP
Received 13 Jan 2005Wallasea Island,Rochford,SS4 2HD
Received 4 May 2012Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road, Braintree, CO5 9DF
Received 16 Jun 2025Boro Farm, Newmarket Road, Great Chesterford, Essex, CB10 1NU
Received 14 Nov 2022Colchester Quarry, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 0NN
Received 4 Apr 2013St Giles C of E Primary School, Church Street, Halstead, Great Maplestead, CO9 2RG
Received 30 Apr 2014Land off Ipswich Road, Langham, Essex, CO4 5LZ
Received 5 Sept 2023Nazeing Quarry,Green Lane,Nazeing,Waltham Abbey,EN10 6TD
Received 5 Apr 1993Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project, Creeksea Ferry Road, Wallasea Island, SS4 2HD
Received 12 Apr 2019Wivenhoe Quarry,Alresford Road,Wivenhoe,Colchester,CO7 9JY
Received 25 Apr 2012St. Giles C Of E Primary School, Church Street, Great Maplestead, Halstead, CO9 2RG
Received 28 Aug 2014Waste Transfer Station, West Road, Harlow, CM20 2AL
Received 2 Nov 2016Nazeing Quarry,Green Lane,Nazeing,Waltham Abbey,EN10 6TD
Received 4 Apr 1972Great Baddow School,Duffield Road,Great Baddow,Chelmsford,CM2 9RZ
Received 13 Feb 2009Former St Marys Church of England Primary School, St Johns Road, STANSTED. CM24 8JP
Received 14 Dec 2017Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell-on-sea, Southminster, CM0 7HP
Received 14 Dec 2018Howbridge CE Junior School (also CM8 1DJ),Howbridge Road,Witham,CM8 1BZ
Received 1 Dec 2010Oyster Haven Business Park, Haven Road, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8HT
Received 17 Jul 2023Highways Depot,Kings Road,Charfleets Industrial Est,Canvey
Received 8 Jun 2005Land at St Cleres Hall Pit, Main Road, Danbury, CM3 4AS
Received 1 Aug 2016Records 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