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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Land at Colemans Farm, Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall, Witham, CM8 3EX
Received 23 Jun 2016Bellhouse Pit,Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 23 Aug 1999Stanway Fiveways Primary School, Winstree Road, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 0QG
Received 25 Apr 2017Royal Oak Quarry,Chelmsford Rd,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM9 6TJ
Received 2 Jul 2012Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 1 Nov 2001Mackers Metals, Wrexham Road, Basildon, SS156PX
Received 20 Sept 2012Ash Farm,Thorpe Road,Weeley,Colchester,CO16 9JH
Received 21 Nov 2001Land forming part of New Rickstones Academy, Conrad Road, Rivenhall, CM8 2SD
Received 22 Apr 2022Brentwood County High School, Shenfield Common, Seven Archers Road, Brentwood,Brentwood County High School,Shenfield Common,Brentwood,CM14 4JF
Received 1 Aug 2012Queen Boudica Primary School,Cowper Crescent,Colchester,CO4 5XT
Received 2 Jun 2009Land at Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Rayne, Braintree, Essex, CM77 6SB
Received 28 Jul 2026Parkside Youth Centre,Maldon Road,Witham
Received 11 Feb 2005The area of public open space directly west of Williams Drive and directly north of Rana Drive, Braintree, Essex
Received 18 May 2018The King John School, Shipwrights Drive, Benfleet, SS7 1RQ
Received 8 Sept 2014Tile Kiln Farm, Sible Hedingham, Halstead, Essex, CO9 1UP
Received 16 Oct 2023North Benfleet Hall,North Benfleet,Benfleet
Received 1 Mar 2001Land between Sheering Road and the M11 Motorway
Received 19 May 2020St Michaels Primary School & Nursery,Camulodunum Way,Colchester,CO2 9RA
Received 9 Jun 2006Asheldham Quarry, Southminster Road, Asheldham, Essex, CM0 7DZ
Received 31 Mar 2015Colchester Quarry, Stanway, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester,Colchester Quarry (Stanway Hall),Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 20 Sept 2001Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, CM9 8BQ
Received 14 Nov 2018Castle View School,Foksville Road,Canvey,SS8 7AZ
Received 2 Nov 2004Land at Colchester Quarry, Warren lane, Stanway Colchester C03 0NN
Received 4 Nov 2019Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 19 Jul 2006Records 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