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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Laindon Park Primary School, Church Hill, Basildon, Laindon, Essex, SS15 5SE
Received 21 Jan 2014Tile Kin Farm, Sible Hedingham, Halstead, Essex, CO9 1UP
Received 11 Jul 2024Braintree Waste Transfer Station, Cordons Farm, Long Green, Cressing, CM77 8DL
Received 7 Apr 2022Land to the west of Winsford Way, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 5AA
Received 23 Sept 2013Kings Ford County Infant & Junior School,Gloucester Ave,Colchester,CO2 9AZ
Received 17 Apr 2002Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon, CM9 8BQ
Received 29 May 2020A120 Stansted to Braintree scheme
Received 3 Sept 2001East Mersea Centre for Outdoor Learning,Rewsalls Lane,off East Road,East Mersea,Colchester,CO5 8SY
Received 19 Sept 2011Edith Borthwick School,Fennes Rd,Bocking,Braintree,CM7 5LA
Received 6 Aug 2007Former Little Parndon School,Little Parndon Respite Care Unit (Little Parndon Primary School),Park Mead,Harlow,CM20 1PU
Received 3 Aug 2005Lakelands Primary School, Land off Wagtail Mews, Stanway Colchester, CO3 8AL
Received 19 Jun 2020Harlowbury Primary School site, Gilden Way, Harlow
Received 21 Feb 2022Langenhoe CPS,Braken Way,Abberton,Colchester,CO5 7PG
Received 6 Jan 1999Royal Oak Quarry,Chelmsford Rd,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM9 6TJ
Received 24 Sept 2013Moulsham Infant and Junior Schools, Princes Road, Chelmsford, CM2 9DG
Received 18 Nov 2014Land at Dollymans Farm, Doublegate Lane, Rawreth, Wickford, SS11 8UD
Received 17 Aug 2026Land between the A120 and A133, to the east of Colchester and west of Elmstead Market
Received 15 Nov 2024Fairfields Farm,Fordham Road,Wormingford,Colchester,CO6 3AQ
Received 3 Mar 2011Shorefields School, 114, Holland Road, Clacton-on-sea, CO156HF
Received 23 Jan 2012Baddow Hall County Junior & Infants School,New Rd,Great Baddow,Chelmsford,CM2 7QZ
Received 10 Mar 2004Mackers Metals, Wrexham Road, Laindon, SS15 6PX
Received 31 Mar 2015St Peter's Church Of England Primary School, Myneer Park, Coggeshall, Essex, CO6 1YU
Received 23 May 2025Land at: Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Braintree, Essex, Rayne
Received 8 Apr 2022Nazeing Quarry,Green Lane,Nazeing,Waltham Abbey,EN10 6TD
Received 18 Nov 1988Records 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