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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Wivenhoe Quarry, Alresford Road, Wivenhoe, CO7 9JU
Received 30 Jan 2019Springfield Highways Depot, Colchester Road, Springfield, Chelmsford, CM2 5PU
Received 6 Jan 2017Columbus School and College,Patching Hall Lane,Chelmsford,CM1 4BX
Received 24 Jul 2006Crumps Farm,Stortford Rd,Little Canfield,Great Dunmow,CM6 1SR
Received 12 Oct 2012East Hanningfield C of E Primary School,The Tye,East Hanningfield,Chelmsford,CM3 8AE
Received 21 Nov 2001Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 12 Oct 2021Little Easton Airfield,Little Easton,Dunmow,CM6 2BB
Received 13 Feb 2012Harwich St Joseph's RC Primary School,The Drive,Dovercourt,Harwich
Received 24 May 2000The Sweyne Park School, Sir Walter Raleigh Drive Rayleigh, SS6 9BZ
Received 14 Sept 2020Sandon Hall Farm,Sandon Quarry,Southend Road,Chelmsford,CM2 7TE
Received 8 Jun 1987Lufkins Farm, Great Bentley Road, Frating, CO7 7HN
Received 12 Nov 2021Cedar Hall School, Hart Road, Thundersley, Benfleet, Essex SS7 3UQ
Received 14 Sept 2022Bulls Lodge Quarry (Park Farm & Bulls Lodge Farm land), Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 4 Dec 2017The Westerings Primary School, Sunny Road, Hawkwell, SS5 4NZ
Received 8 Feb 2018Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon, CM9 8BQ
Received 5 Sept 2017Land at Colchester Quarry, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, Essex, CO3 0NN
Received 12 Apr 2023Tabor Science College,The Tabor High School - Upper School,Panfield Lane,Braintree,CM7 6QA
Received 13 May 2005Colchester Quarry, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester C03 0NN
Received 22 Feb 2019Land at Courtauld Road, basildon, Essex
Received 9 Aug 2013St Helena School,Sheepen Road,Colchester,CO3 3LE
Received 5 Nov 1999Castledon School,Bromfords Drive,Wickford,SS12 0PW
Received 12 Jun 2003Wivenhoe Quarry, Alresford Road, Wivenhoe, Essex, CO7 9JU
Received 23 Jun 2022Land forming part of New Rickstones Academy, Conrad Road, Rivenhall, CM8 2SD
Received 7 Jan 2021Brickhouse Farm Community Centre, Poulton Close, Maldon, CM9 6NG
Received 13 Nov 2019Records 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