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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Hollow Road,Widdington,Saffron Walden,CB113SL
Received 17 Jul 2007Barling Marsh Quarry and Landfill Site,Mucking Hall Road,Barling Magna,Rochford,SS3 0NR
Received 26 Jan 2006Russell Green,Russell Green Reservoir,Drakes Farm,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3BD
Received 29 May 1997Thomas Lord Audley School,Monkwick County Infant School,School Road,Colchester,CO2 8NN
Received 5 Apr 2000Bradwell Quarry, Coggeshall Road (A120T), Essex, Bradwell, United Kingdom
Received 7 Apr 2015Land at Andrewes Way, Wolsey Park, Rayleigh
Received 1 Aug 2026Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Braintree, Essex, Rayne
Received 11 Apr 2022White Court Primary School, Ennerdale Avenue, Great Notley, CM77 7UE
Received 18 Dec 2020Bellhouse Quarry And Landfill Site, Electricity Generating Station, Warren Lane, Stanway, Essex, CO3 0NN
Received 17 Jul 2023Halstead Anaerobic Digestion Facility, Land north of Bluebridge Industrial Estate, Halstead, Essex
Received 15 Feb 2022Maldon Youth Centre, Carmelite Way,Maldon,CM9 5GF
Received 16 Aug 2005Wivenhoe Quarry, Alresford Road, Wivenhoe, Essex, CO7 9JU
Received 21 Mar 2024Martells Pit,Martell's Quarry,Ardleigh,Colchester,CO7 7SP
Received 28 Apr 1998Elmstead Hall, Elmstead, Colchester, Essex. CO7 7EX
Received 24 Jul 2017Colemans Farm Quarry, Little Braxted Lane, Witham, CM8 3EX
Received 5 Sept 2023Halstead Anaerobic Digestion Facility, Bluebridge Industrial Estate, Halstead, Essex, CO9 2SZ
Received 1 Nov 2023Westlands Community Primary School,Beeches Close,Chelmsford,CM1 2SB
Received 7 Jun 2001Brightlingsea Quarry, Moverons Lane, Brightlingsea, CO7 0SB
Received 23 Dec 2024Ashlyns Farm, Epping Road, North Weald, Epping, CM16 6RZ
Received 12 Dec 2023Notley High School,Notley Road,Braintree,CM7 1HL
Received 14 May 1999'Lakelands Primary School', Land off Wagtail Mews, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 8AL
Received 31 May 2019Birchanger CE Primary School,Birchwood,Birchanger,Bishop's Stortford,CM23 5QF
Received 2 May 2002Lufkins Farm, Frating and Brook Farm, Great Bentley, Colchester
Received 21 Aug 2015Land at former Queen Street Bus Depot, Queen Street, Colchester, CO1 2PQ
Received 2 Jul 2026Records 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