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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Endeavour School, Hogarth Avenue, Brentwood, CM158BE
Received 14 Aug 2013Henham & Ugley School, School Lane, Henham, Bishop's Stortford, CM226BP
Received 3 Jun 2016Nazeing Quarry,Green Lane,Nazeing,Waltham Abbey,EN10 6TD
Received 11 Jan 1972Whitmore Junior & Infant School, Whitmore Way, Basildon, SS142TP
Received 29 Feb 2016Canvey Junior & Infants School,Hawkesbury Road,Canvey,SS8 0DG
Received 14 Jun 2002Katherine Semar Junior School,Ross Close,Saffron Walden,Saffron Walden,CB11 4DU
Received 11 Aug 2004Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP, and land south of Cut Hedge Lane
Received 8 May 2015Glenwood School, Rushbottom Lane, Thundersley, Benfleet, Essex, SS7 4LW
Received 19 Aug 2024Brightlingsea Quarry,Moverons Lane,Brightlingsea,CO7 0SB
Received 29 Dec 1995Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 17 Feb 2009Gt Sampford Primary School,Finchingfield Road,Saffron Walden,CB10 2RL
Received 27 May 2008Northwick Park Primary School, Third Avenue, Canvey Island, Essex, SS8 9SU
Received 30 May 2017Land at Sheepcotes Farm, Sheepcotes Lane, Little Waltham, CM3 3LU
Received 1 Oct 2026Great Bardfield Primary School,Braintree Road,Great Bardfield,Halstead,CM74 4RN
Received 6 Mar 2008Land to the east of Bradfields Farm, Burnt Mills Road, Basildon
Received 14 Nov 2017Frinton County Primary School,Witton Wood Road,Frinton-on-Sea,CO13 9LA
Received 14 Apr 1999Tendring Road,Mill Green,Little Bentley,Colchester,CO7
Received 12 Jul 2005Sandon Quarry, Southend Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 7TE
Received 5 Mar 2020Land at Colemans Farm, Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall, Witham, CM8 3EX
Received 22 Jun 2016Part Hollow Road, Widdington, Saffron Walden,Hollow Road,Widdington,Saffron Walden,CB113SL
Received 15 Oct 2005John Ray County Infant School, Notley Rd, Braintree,Notley High School,Notley Road,Braintree,CM7 1HL
Received 27 May 1999Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Canfield, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 14 Oct 2025Gt Holts & Wallaces Farm,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3AU
Received 31 Mar 1998Blackleys Quarry, (Essex Show Ground),Great Leighs,Chelmsford,CM3 1QB
Received 16 Jan 2003Records 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