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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Barling Marsh Quarry and Landfill Site,Mucking Hall Road,Barling Magna,Rochford,SS3 0NR
Received 15 Oct 2010Blackley Quarry, Land to the north east and north west of Blackley Lane, A131, Great Leighs, CM3 1QP
Received 11 Aug 2023St Michaels County Primary School, Camulodunum Way, COLCHESTER, CO2 9RA
Received 16 Jun 2017Land between Beaulieu Park (north of Generals Lane), Boreham Parish, and Deres Bridge Roundabout on A131, Great & Little Leighs Parish, to the north east of Chelmsford.
Received 27 Sept 2021Fairhouse Community Junior & Infant School,Long Riding,Basildon,SS141QP
Received 16 Feb 2006Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP
Received 3 Jun 2019Centre Point,St John's Road,Epping,CM16 5DN
Received 27 Mar 2007Lufkins Farm, Frating and Brook Farm, Great Bentley, Colchester
Received 6 Jun 2018Felmore Junior School,Felmore Primary School,Davenants,Pitsea,Basildon,SS131QZ
Received 2 Aug 2002Crumps Farm,Crumps Farm,Stortford Rd,Little Canfield,Great Dunmow,CM6 1SR
Received 24 Feb 1988Colchester Quarry (Bellhouse), Warren Lane, Colchester, Essex
Received 5 Feb 2015Basildon Sewage Treatment Works,Courtauld Road,Basildon,SS13 1DB
Received 23 Oct 2002Shenfield Library, Hutton Road, Shenfield, CM15 8NJ
Received 23 Apr 2024Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 5 Nov 2024Bulls Lodge Quarry (Park Farm & Brick Farm), Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 21 Dec 2020Braiswick Primary School, Apprentice Drive, Colchester, CO4 5QJ
Received 6 Feb 2021Land Adjacent to Motts Lane, Motts Lane, Witham, Essex
Received 2 Jul 2013Veolia E S Uk Ltd, Pitsea Hall Lane, Pitsea, Basildon, SS164UH
Received 15 Mar 2012Land adjacent to Church Lane, Marks Tey, Colchester
Received 24 Nov 2022Kores Nordic (gb) Ltd, West Road, Harlow, CM202AL
Received 4 Mar 2014Colchester WwTW,Haven Road,The Hythe,Colchester,CO2 8HT
Received 28 Jan 2011Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7PP
Received 13 Sept 2017Wethersfield Primary School,Silver Street,Wethersfield,Braintree
Received 16 Jan 2002Former Commonside School, Commonside Road, Harlow cm18 7ez,Harlow Integrated Support Centre (Former Commonside Special School),Commonside Road,Harlow,CM18 7EZ
Received 17 Oct 2001Records 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