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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Stanway Quarry, Warren Lane, Colchester, CO3 0NN
Received 26 Mar 2021Purford Green Primary School,Purford Green,Harlow,CM18 6HP
Received 6 Oct 2005Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, Essex, CM77 8EP
Received 10 Apr 2025Rowhedge Pits,Rowhedge Pits,Rowhedge,Colchester
Received 25 Mar 1999Rivenhall Primary School,Church Road,Rivenhall,Witham,CM8 3PQ
Received 2 Nov 2010Boreham Proving Ground,Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 27 Jul 2016Wivenhoe Quarry, Alresford Road, Wivenhoe, Colchester, Essex, CO7 9JU
Received 15 Jun 2012Manor Farm, Woodham Walter, Maldon
Received 11 Jul 2006Silver End Primary School, School Road, Silver End, Witham, CM8 3RZ
Received 9 Jun 2014Highfields CPS,Colchester Rd,Lawford,Manningtree,CO11 2BN
Received 15 Jan 19986 Northlands Pavement,Pitsea,Basildon,SS13 3DU
Received 26 Mar 2009Noak Bridge Primary School,Coppice Lane,Basildon,SS154JS
Received 6 Jul 2010Land adjacent to Rickstones Road, Rivenhall, CM8 2SD
Received 12 Apr 2021James Hornsby High School,Leinster Road,Laindon,Basildon,SS155NX
Received 6 Feb 2004Recycling Centre for Household Waste,Hill Way,Roman Road,Mountnessing,Brentwood,CM4 9AU
Received 5 Jan 1998Stansted to Braintree A120,Braintree
Received 27 Oct 2000Between Strawbrook Hill and Great Notley Garden Village
Received 7 Nov 1996Columbus School and College,Patching Hall Lane,Chelmsford,CM1 4BX
Received 3 Sept 2009Cowlands Farm,Stebbing,Dunmow,CM6 3AH
Received 30 Jun 1989Takeley Primary School, Bennet Canfield, Priors Green, Takeley, Dunmow CM6 1
Received 18 Apr 2012Milwards Primary School, Paringdon Road, Harlow, CM1 4DU
Received 28 Apr 2015Land to the South of Park Farm, Springfield, Chelmsford, Essex
Received 18 Jan 2019Colchester Quarry (Bellhouse), Warren Lane, Stanway, Essex, CO3 0NN
Received 12 Aug 2021Newport Free Grammar School,Burywater Lane,Saffron Walden,CB11 3TR
Received 22 May 2008Records 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