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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Tesco Stores Ltd,Radwinter Road,Saffron Walden,CB10 2JP
Received 7 Jul 2009Brightside County Junior And Infant School, Brightside, Billericay, CM12 0LE
Received 24 May 2019Land between River Way and A1184 (Cambridge Road), Harlow
Received 22 Nov 2023Land at Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Braintree, Essex, Rayne
Received 29 Oct 2020LAND ADJACENT TO JAYWICK LANE,Clacton-on-Sea
Received 24 Jul 2001Sandon Quarry,Southend Road,Chelmsford,CM2 7TE
Received Not publishedNorthwick Park Primary School, Third Avenue, Canvey Island, SS8 9SU
Received 27 Nov 2018Hilltop County Infants & Junior School, Hill Avenue, Wickford SS11 8LT
Received Not publishedWickford Clubhouse, 34 Runwell Road, Wickford
Received Not publishedAnaerobic Digestion Plant, Marsh Farm, Vange by-Pass, Vange, SS16 4QG
Received 28 Jul 2017Brightlingsea Quarry, Moverons Lane, Brightlingsea, CO7 0SB
Received 23 Dec 2024Oakfield Primary School, Scott Drive,Oakfield Primary School,Scott Drive,Wickford,SS12 9PW
Received 7 Jun 2000Land South of Fingringhoe,Fingringhoe Quarry,Ballast Quay,Fingringhoe,Colchester
Received 13 Jun 2000Tile Kiln Farm, Sible Hedingham, Halstead, CO9 1UP
Received 31 Mar 2026Hazelmere Junior School,Hazelmere C.I & J.S,Hawthorn Avenue,Greenstead Estate,Colchester,CO4 3JP
Received 16 Feb 2005Birch Airfield,Blind Lane,Birch,Colchester,CO5 9HH
Received 28 Jan 2011Crumps Farm,Stortford Rd,Little Canfield,Great Dunmow,CM6 1SR
Received 12 Oct 2012Land at Dollymans Farm, Doublegate Lane, Rawreth, Wickford, SS11 8UD
Received 15 Feb 2022Unit 10A,Unit 10a - 14,Rawreth Industrial Estate,Rawreth Lane,Rayleigh
Received 10 Jun 1997Land at Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road, Braintree, CO5 9DF
Received 7 Jun 2024Montgomery CIS,Baronswood Way,Colchester,CO2 9QG
Received 23 Jan 2008Shenfield Library, Hutton Road, Shenfield, CM15 8NJ
Received 23 Apr 2024Land at Andrewes Way Wolsey Park Rayleigh
Received 14 Aug 2026Haven Quay,Haven Quay,Haven Road,Colchester
Received 10 May 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