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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Lakelands Primary School, Land off Wagtail Mews, Stanway, Colchester
Received 2 Dec 2019Danbury Outdoors, Well Lane, Danbury, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 4AB
Received 12 Aug 2024Ramsey College, Colne Road, Halstead, CO9 2HR
Received 28 Mar 2013Bulls Lodge Quarry (Park Farm & Brick Farm), Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 19 Nov 2025Colne Road, Halstead,The Ramsey School - Upper,Hawthorn Close,Halstead,CO9 2HR
Received 11 May 2001Magnox Electric Plc, Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell-on-sea, Southminster, CM0 7HP
Received 21 Mar 2014Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 8 May 2003Clacton County High School, Walton Road, Clacton On Sea, CO15 6DZ
Received 26 Mar 2021Newport Chalk Quarry, Chalk Farm Lane, Newport, Saffron Walden, Essex
Received 10 Jul 2024Limes Farm County Junior School, Limes Avenue, Chigwell,Limes Farm County Junior and Infant Schools,Limes Avenue,Chigwell,IG7 5LP
Received 10 Jun 2002Lee Chapel County Primary School,The Knares,Basildon,SS16 5RU
Received 11 Feb 2008Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 24 Sept 2002A120 Stansted to Braintree scheme
Received 3 Sept 2001Lee Chapel County Primary School, The Knares, Basildon SS16 5RU
Received Not publishedGlenwood School,Rushbottom Lane,New Thundersley,Benfleet,SS7 4LW
Received 30 Nov 2005Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Canfield, Dunmow, CM6 1SL
Received 9 Oct 2014Writtle Infant School, Lodge Road,Writtle Junior School,Margaretting Road,Writtle,Chelmsford,CM1 3HG
Received 19 Sept 2007Land adjacent to A120, A120 North, Ardleigh, Colchester, Essex, CO7 7SL
Received 9 Oct 2013A120 / B1018 Millennium Way, Braintree
Received 24 May 2019Richard De Clare Primary School,Parsonage Street,Halstead,CO9 2JT
Received 6 Dec 2010Land at Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell on Sea, Southminster, Essex, CM0 7HQ
Received 28 Sept 2023St Margaret's CofE Primary School, Church Lane, Toppesfield, Essex, CO9 4DS
Received 18 May 2026Units 25/26 Stansted Distribution Centre,Bishop's Stortford,CM22 7DG
Received 11 Jan 2007Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road (A120), Braintree, Essex, CO5 9DF
Received 18 Dec 2015Records 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