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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Lincewood Primary School, Berry Lane, Langdon Hills, Basildon, SS166AZ
Received 15 Apr 2013British Rail Goods Yard,Harlow Rail Depot,Station Approach,Harlow,CM20 2EL
Received 15 Nov 1993Land at Wallasea Island, Rochford, SS4 2HD
Received 21 Apr 2015Warley County Primary School, Chindits Lane, Warley, CM14 5LF
Received 30 May 2019St Clere's Hall Pit,Main Road,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM3 4AR
Received 13 Nov 2003Hamford C P School, Elm Tree Avenue, WALTON ON THE NAZE, CO14 8TE
Received 23 Feb 2018The Sweyne Park School, Sir Walter Raleigh Drive, Rayleigh, SS6 9BZ
Received 7 Jul 2021The Cornelius Vermuyden School,Dinant Avenue,Canvey,SS8 9SQ
Received 17 Dec 2010Gilden Way and Sheering Road public highways and land between Sheering Road and M11 Motorway
Received 28 Feb 2018Hollow Road,Widdington,Saffron Walden,CB113SL
Received 9 Nov 2001Magnox Electric Plc, Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell-on-sea, Southminster, CM0 7HP
Received 6 Feb 2012Land situated off Walnut Tree Way, Colchester, Essex
Received 12 Dec 2022Roding Valley High School, Alderton Hill, Loughton, IG103JA
Received 30 Oct 2017Hedingham School,Yeldham Road,Sible Hedingham,Halstead,CO9 3QH
Received 16 Apr 2009St Andrews CofE Primary School, School Green Lane, North Weald, Epping, Essex, CM16 6EH
Received 4 Jan 2016Downham C of E School,Church Road,Ramsden Heath,Billericay,CM11 1NU
Received 27 Apr 2006Barnes Farm Infant & Junior Schools,Henniker Gate,Chelmer Village,Chelmsford,CM2 6QH
Received 20 Mar 2008Magnum House,Swinborne Road,Basildon,SS13 1AX
Received 11 Jan 2002Lufkins Farm, Great Bentley Road, Frating, Colchester
Received 20 Nov 2020Chapel Farm,Lt Totham,Maldon,CM9 8LX
Received 29 Nov 2004Ravenscroft Primary School, Nayland Drive, Clacton-on-sea, CO168TZ
Received 14 Jan 2014Hollow Road,Widdington,Saffron Walden,CB113SL
Received 19 Aug 2008Boswells School,Burnham Road,Springfield,Chelmsford,CM1 6LY
Received 24 Oct 2006Wallasea Island RSPB, Creeksea Ferry Road, Wallasea Island, SS4 2HD
Received 7 Jun 2018Records 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