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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Birch Quarry Roundbush Corner Maldon Road Colchester Layer CO5 9XE
Received 14 Apr 2026Eastern Waste Disposal Yard, Morses Lane Ind Est,Morses Lane Industrial Estate,Brightlingsea,CO7 0SD
Received 27 Jun 2000White Court Primary School, Ennerdale Avenue, Great Notley, CM77 7UE
Received 3 Feb 2026Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon. CM9 8BQ
Received 10 Nov 2014Former Kores Nordic Site,West Road,Harlow,CM20 2AL
Received 2 Aug 2013Auto Spares, Station Yard, Great Bentley Road, Thorrington, CO7 8HY
Received 28 Sept 2020Greensmill Welding, 1, Greens Mill, Lawford, Manningtree, CO111UW
Received 18 May 2012Land at Bellhouse Farm South, Warren Lane, Colchester, CO3 0NN
Received 24 Apr 2026Castledon School, Bromfords Drive, Wickford, SS12 0PW
Received 16 Oct 2023Green Lane, Nazeing,Nazeing Quarry,Green Lane,Nazeing,Waltham Abbey,EN10 6TD
Received 18 Nov 1987Janet Duke Infant School,Janet Duke Primary School,Markhams Chase,Laindon,Basildon,SS155LS
Received 15 Jan 2008Beeleigh Mill, Abbey Turning, Maldon, CM9 6LL
Received 25 Feb 2022Land to the south of Archers Fields Close, Burnt Mills Industrial Estate, Basildon, SS13 1DN
Received 9 Oct 2020St Clere's Hall Pit,Main Road,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM3 4AR
Received 29 Jun 2012Grange Road,Tiptree,Colchester,CO5 0QQ
Received 9 Feb 2012A120 Stansted to Braintree scheme
Received 3 Sept 2001Land at Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Braintree, Essex, Rayne
Received 25 Nov 2019The Downs Cp School, The Hides, Harlow, CM203RB
Received 16 Sept 2014Hedingham School,Yeldham Road,Sible Hedingham,Halstead,CO9 3QH
Received 29 Mar 2005Land to the north of Church End Lane, Runwell
Received 23 Jun 2026Hedingham School,Yeldham Road,Sible Hedingham,Halstead,CO9 3QH
Received 30 Oct 2007Montgomery Infant & Junior School, Baronswood Way, Colchester, Essex, CO2 9QG
Received 17 Jul 2014The Friary,Carmalite Way,Maldon,CM9 5FJ
Received 21 Dec 2006Land to the east of Brickfields Way, Brickfields Way, Rochford, SS4 1NB
Received 24 Mar 2015Records 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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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