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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 2 Jun 2003Colchester Quarry (Stanway Hall),Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 18 Sept 2014Roach Vale Primary School,Roach Vale,Colchester,CO4 3YN
Received 31 Oct 2002James Waste Management, Purdeys Industrial Estate, Brickfields Way, Rochford, Essex, SS4 1NB
Received 2 Oct 2020Land at Birch Pit, Maldon Road, Birch
Received 3 Sept 2026Shenfield & Hutton Water Recycling Centre, off Old Church Lane, Shenfield, Brentwood, Essex
Received 23 Aug 2017Lufkins Farm, Great Bentley Road, Frating, CO7 7HN
Received 8 Apr 2024Great Tey CofE Primary School,Chrismund Way,Great Tey,Colchester,CO6 1AZ
Received 2 Nov 200715 Red Lyons Business Centre, Burnham Road, Latchingdon, Burnham-on-Crouch. CM3 6JH
Received 11 Mar 2009Brickhouse Farm Community Centre, Poulton Close, Maldon, CM9
Received 9 Jan 2019Rettendon Turnpike to Rayleigh Spur,Rettendon Turnpike to Rayleigh Spur,Basildon
Received 3 Feb 1997Roxwell Landfill,Chignal St James,Chelmsford,CM1 4TZ
Received 6 Jan 2009Columbus School and College,Patching Hall Lane,Chelmsford,CM1 4BX
Received Not publishedBulls Lodge Quarry, Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 3HR
Received 24 Apr 2025Wivenhoe Quarry, Alresford Road, Wivenhoe, Essex, CO7 9JU
Received 21 Nov 2017Cory Environmental, Mucking Hall Road, Barling Magna, Southend-on-sea, SS3 0NR
Received 11 May 2012Wivenhoe Quarry,Wivenhoe Quarry,Alresford Road,Wivenhoe,Colchester,CO7 9JY
Received 16 Feb 1996Former Alderman Blaxhill Secondary School site, Paxman Avenue, Colchester, Essex CO2 9DQ
Received 26 Apr 2018Crown Quarry (Ardleigh Reservoir Extension)
Received 28 May 2014Alresford Primary School, Ford Lane, Alresford, Essex, CO7 8AU
Received 4 May 2023Land at: Colemans Farm Quarry, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall, Witham, Essex, CM8 3EX
Received 5 Feb 2024Land to the South of Park Farm, Springfield, Chelmsford, Essex
Received 13 Apr 2017Tyrells & Tudor Centres,39 Seamore Avenue,New Thundersley,Benfleet,SS7 4EX
Received 26 Jun 2000Land to the east of Guilfords, Harlow, Essex, CM17 0HX
Received 18 Oct 2022Records 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