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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Clacton County High School, Walton Road, Clacton on Sea, Essex, CO15 6DZ
Received 5 Oct 2020Colchester Quarry (Bellhouse), Warren Lane, Colchester, Essex
Received 24 Feb 2017Widdington Pit, Hollow Road, Widdington, CB11 3SL
Received 19 Jun 2014Bulls Lodge Quarry (Boreham Airfield), Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 21 Dec 2020St John's Green Primary School,St John's Green,Colchester,CO2 7HE
Received 6 Nov 2002Bakers Lane,Black Notley,Braintree,CM77 8QS
Received 26 Aug 2010Fawbert & Barnards (UNDL) PS,London Rd,Old Harlow,Harlow,CM17 0DA
Received 20 Jul 2007Barling Marsh Quarry & Landfill, Mucking Hall Road, Barling Magna, SS3 0NR
Received 30 Sept 2021Land at Colemans Farm, Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall, Witham, CM8 3EX
Received 22 Jun 2016Widdington Pit, Hollow Road, Widdington, CB11 3SL
Received 2 Sept 2021Danbury Park County Primary School,Well Lane,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM3 4AB
Received 1 Sept 200819 Harwich Road, Ardleigh, Colchester, CO7 7LT
Received 10 Nov 2014St Mary's C of E County Primary School,Docwra Road,Kelvedon,Colchester,CO5 9DS
Received 12 Aug 1998Fen Farm, Elmstead Market, Colchester, Essex
Received 23 Mar 2011Lakelands Primary School, Land off Wagtail Mews, Stanway Colchester, CO3 8AL
Received 22 Oct 2019Burnt Mill Comprehensive School,First Avenue,Harlow,CM20 2NR
Received 24 Feb 2009Land at Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road (A120), Braintree CO5 9DF
Received 24 Jan 2023Gosfield County Primary School,The Street,Gosfield,Halstead,CO9 1ST
Received 6 May 2008Milwards Primary School and Nursery,Paringdon Road,Harlow,CM19 4QX
Received 17 May 2000Royal Oak Quarry,Chelmsford Rd,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM9 6TJ
Received 2 Jul 2012Land at Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road, Braintree, CO5 9DF
Received 27 Feb 2026St John Fisher Catholic Primary School,Burney Drive,Loughton,IG10 2DY
Received 10 Mar 2010Barling Marsh Quarry and Landfill Site,Mucking Hall Road,Barling Magna,Rochford,SS3 0NR
Received 24 Sept 2013Braintree Freeport Village, Charter Way, Braintree, CM7 78YH
Received 10 Oct 2012Records 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