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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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: 14 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Weald Country Park,South Weald,Brentwood
Received 21 Dec 1993Land at Ashtree Farm, Boyton Cross, Roxwell, Chelmsford, CM1 4LP
Received 17 Jan 2013The Plume School,Fambridge Road,Maldon,CM9 6AB
Received 7 Mar 2008Frogs Hall Farm,Bambers Green,Takeley,Bishop's Stortford,CM22 6PE
Received 23 Jan 2012Stock Church Of England Primary School, Swan Lane, Stock, Ingatestone, Essex, CM4 9BQ
Received 25 Jul 2025Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 5 Nov 2024Land at Colemans Farm, Witham, Essex
Received 29 Aug 2013Janet Duke Primary School, Markhams Chase, Laindon, Basildon, SS155LS
Received Not publishedThe Plume School, Fambridge Road, Maldon, Essex, CM9 6AB
Received 16 Jul 2025Grange Primary School, Elder Avenue, Wickford, SS120LR
Received 17 Feb 2012Beaulieu Park Education Campus site, Beaulieu, Chelmsford
Received 9 Mar 2018Ashlyns Farm, Epping Road, North Weald, Epping, CM16 6RZ
Received 10 Jan 2023Ongar Landfill Site,Mill Lane,Ongar,CM5 9RG
Received 13 Sept 2001Land at Bellhouse Farm South
Received 30 Jan 2025Montgomery CIS,Baronswood Way,Colchester,CO2 9QG
Received 4 Feb 2003Danbury Park County Primary School,Well Lane,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM3 4AB
Received 24 Jan 2008Land at Sandon Quarry, Southend Road, Sandon, Howe Green, CM2 7TE
Received 28 Feb 2020Bradwell Nuclear Power Station,Bradwell on Sea,Maldon,CM0 7HP
Received 13 Aug 2007Curry Farm,Mill End,Bradwell-on-Sea,Maldon,CM0 7HL
Received 27 Jun 2007Unit 2, Goldcrest Industrial Estate, Driberg Way, Braintree, Essex, CM7 1NB
Received 20 Nov 2013Land at Russell Green, Boreham Road, Chelmsford
Received 24 Feb 2026Land at: Asheldham Quarry, Southminster Road, Asheldham, Essex, CM0 7DZ
Received 3 Jul 2025The King John School, Shipwrights Drive, Benfleet, SS7 1RQ
Received 6 Aug 2014Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon CM9 8BQ
Received 31 Mar 2023Records 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.

Understanding planning · 13 min read
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