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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Bulls Lodge Quarry, Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 10 Jul 2015Great Chesterford WwTW,Mill Lane,Great Chesterford,Saffron Waldon
Received 9 Jun 2003Land to the south of Terminus Drive, Pitsea Hall Lane, Pitsea, SS16 4UH
Received 26 Aug 2016Recycling Centre for Household Waste,Springwood Drive,Braintree,CM7 2YN
Received 28 Nov 2008Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project, Creeksea Ferry Road, Wallasea Island, SS4 2HD
Received 21 Nov 2019Barnfield - Epping Road - Roydon,Barnfield,Tylers Cross,Roydon,Harlow,CM19 5DP
Received 26 Jun 1998Caretakers House, Moulsham Junior School, Princes Road, Chelmsford,Moulsham High, Junior & Infant School,Brian Close,Chelmsford,CM2 9ES
Received 15 Apr 2003Oyster Haven Business Park, Haven Road, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8HT
Received 15 Mar 2023Crumps Farm,Stortford Rd,Little Canfield,Great Dunmow,CM6 1SR
Received 12 Sept 2007Land at Bolton Farm, Boreham, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 5AE
Received 16 Sept 2016Newport Free Grammar School,Burywater Lane,Saffron Walden,CB11 3TR
Received 12 Jan 2006Land at Wallasea Island, Rochford, SS4 2HD
Received 17 Jan 2014Cory Environmental, Mucking Hall Road, Barling Magna, Southend-on-sea, SS3 0NR
Received 12 Oct 2011Park Farm, Belsteads Farm Lane, Little Waltham, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 3PX
Received 8 Aug 2023Land south of A1060 (Salt’s Green), Chalk End, Roxwell, Chelmsford, CM1 4NJ
Received 11 Jun 2020Asheldham Quarry, Southminster Road, Asheldham, Essex, CM0 7DZ
Received 31 Mar 2015Phoenix Freight International Limited, Swinborne Road, Basildon, Essex, SS13 1EF
Received 15 Dec 2022Mersea Island School,Bardfield Road,West Mersea,Colchester,CO5 8QX
Received 2 Aug 2010Royal Oak Quarry,Chelmsford Rd,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM9 6TJ
Received 15 Sept 2003North Primary School & Nursery, John Harper Street, Colchester, CO1 1RP
Received 15 Mar 2012The Plume School,The Plume School,Fambridge Road,Maldon,CM9 6AB
Received 25 Jul 2002Batemans Farm, Great Leighs, Chelmsford, CM3 1PU
Received 24 Sept 2013Land between the A120 and A133, to the east of Colchester and west of Elmstead Market
Received 13 Jun 2022Curry Farm,Curry Farm,Mill End,Bradwell-on-Sea,Maldon,CM0 7HL
Received 24 Sept 1996Records 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