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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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: 15 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Cressing Primary School Braintree Road Cressing Essex CM77 8JE
Received 19 Jun 2026The area of open space east of Forest Road and north of Yew Close, Witham
Received 11 Jan 2019Tamar AD Facility, Sixth Avenue, Bluebridge Industrial Estate, Halstead, Essex, CO9 2HG
Received 15 Jul 2015Market Field School, School Road, Elmstead, Colchester, CO7 7ET
Received 10 Jul 2012Land at Colemans Farm, Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall, Witham, CM8 3EX
Received 22 Jun 2016Kents Hill County Junior & Infants Schools,Kents Hill Road,South Benfleet,Benfleet,SS7 5PS
Received 25 Oct 2007Lambourne County Primary School, Romford, RM4 1AU
Received 27 Jul 2015Blackley Quarry, Land to the north east and north west, A131, Great Leighs, CM3 1QP
Received 20 Jul 2016Marsh Farm (also 23 Kt 514),South Woodham Ferrers,Chelmsford,CM3 5WP
Received 24 Mar 2006Land at Shellow Cross Farm, Chalk End, Essex
Received 28 Nov 2023Ormiston Rivers Academy, Southminster Road, Burnham-on-crouch, Essex CM0 8QB
Received 13 Apr 2022Land at Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 16 May 2018Land at Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell on Sea, Southminster, Essex, CM0 7HQ
Received 4 Jul 2025Mid Essex Gravel Pits Ltd, Essex Regiment Way, Little Waltham, Chelmsford, CM3 3PZ
Received 7 Mar 2012Halstead Anaerobic Digestion Facility, Land north of Bluebridge Industrial Estate, Halstead, Essex
Received 12 Sept 2019Montgomery Infant School & Nursery, Baronswood Way, Colchester, CO2 9QG
Received 9 Nov 2012Lincewood Primary School, Berry Lane, Langdon Hills, Basildon, SS166AZ
Received 23 Oct 2013Unit 5-7,Hallsford Bridge Ind Est,Stondon Rd,Ongar,CM5 9RB
Received 5 Oct 1993Sandon Quarry, Southend Road, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 7TE
Received 29 Jul 2021Biogen Anaerobic Digestion Facility, Land At Sixth Avenue, Bluebridge Industrial Estate, Halstead, Essex, CO9 2SZ
Received 25 Aug 2023Highwoods Quarry, Stortford Road, Dunmow CM6 1SL
Received 24 Mar 2025Pitsea Power Station, Pitsea Landfill, Pitsea Hall Lane, Pitsea, Basildon, SS16 4UH
Received 1 Aug 2017Lawford C Of E Primary School Long Road Lawford CO11 2EF
Received 23 Nov 2020Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Canfield, Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 6 Feb 2020Records 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