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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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 28 Jun 201731 Battleswick, Basildon, Essex, SS14 3LA
Received 22 Feb 2024Land at Sheepcotes Farm, Sheepcotes Lane, Little Waltham, CM3 3LU
Received 29 May 2025John Ray Cp Infants School, Notley Road, Braintree, CM7 1HL
Received 14 Oct 2014Land to the east of Brickfields Way, Brickfields Way, Rochford, SS4 1NB
Received 24 Mar 2015Blackley Quarry, and land to the north east and north west of the existing quarry, A131, Great Leighs, CM3 1QP
Received 7 Oct 2019Land South of and adjoining the Flitch Way,Tilekiln Green,Great Hallingbury,Stansted Mountfitchet
Received 30 Oct 2000Elsenham Quarry,Hall Rd,Elsenham,Bishops Stortford,CM22 6DJ
Received Not publishedCrown Quarry (Ardleigh Reservoir Extension)
Received 17 Dec 2013Morses Lane Ind Est.,Morses Lane Industrial Estate,Brightlingsea,CO7 0SD
Received 6 Apr 1999Bishops Stortford Sewage Works, Jenkins Lane, Great Hallingbury, CM22 7QL
Received 24 Jun 2019Land at: Colemans Farm Quarry, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall, Witham, Essex, CM8 3EX
Received 5 Feb 2024St. George's Infant School and Nursery, Barrington Road, Colchester, Essex, CO2 7RW
Received 13 Jul 2022Danbury Centre for Outdoor Learning,Danbury County Youth Camp,Well Lane,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM3 4AB
Received 18 Jul 2011Land at Margaret Woods,Broads Green,Gt Waltham,Chelmsford,CM3 1DZ
Received 9 Jul 2003Blackley Quarry, Great Leighs, CHELMSFORD, CM3 1QP
Received 6 Jan 2021Wallasea Island, Creeksea Ferry Road, Rochford, SS4 2HD
Received 21 Aug 2015Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Canfield, Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 23 May 2021Land forming part of Kingsmoor playing field, Parndon Wood Road, Harlow
Received 15 Sept 2017Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP, and land east of Sheepcotes Lane
Received 26 Oct 2020Crumps Farm,Stortford Rd,Little Canfield,Great Dunmow,CM6 1SR
Received 12 Oct 2012Bulls Lodge Quarry
Received 2 Feb 2011Galleywood Infants School,Barnard Road,Galleywood,Chelmsford,CM2 8RR
Received 25 Apr 2008James Hornsby School,James Hornsby High School,Leinster Road,Laindon,Basildon,SS155NX
Received 14 Feb 2006Records 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