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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 12 Oct 2026. Most recent record check: 16 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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 28 Apr 2017Gosfield County Primary School,The Street,Gosfield,Halstead,CO9 1ST
Received 30 Apr 2001Wickford Junior School,Market Road,Wickford,SS12 0AG
Received 20 Oct 2008Land at Martells's Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex CO7 7RU
Received 23 Oct 2018Columbus School and College,Patching Hall Lane,Chelmsford,CM1 4BX
Received 11 Apr 2008Bulls Lodge Quarry (Boreham Airfield), Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 7 Aug 2024Heathlands C of E Primary School,New Church Road,West Bergholt,Colchester,CO6 3JF
Received 1 Dec 1999Biffa Waste Services Ltd, Cambridge Road, Ugley, Bishop's Stortford, CM226HT
Received 5 Nov 2012Land at The Chase, Newhall, Harlow, CM17 6JA
Received 3 May 2017St Margarets C Of E Primary School, Church Lane, Toppesfield, Halstead, CO9 4DS
Received 14 Mar 2016Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Easton, Near Great Dunmow, Essex
Received 12 Dec 2011Hallsford Bridge Ind Est.,Unit 5-7,Hallsford Bridge Ind Est,Stondon Rd,Ongar,CM5 9RB
Received 11 Dec 1995Green Acres,Old Packards Lane,Wormingford,Colchester,CO6 3AH
Received 16 Jul 2015Rayne County Primary School,Capel Road,Rayne,Braintree,CM7 5BZ
Received 3 Dec 1998Area between the north end of Ghyllgrove & A1235 Cranes Farm Road, Basildon & Strip of land along west side of Ghyllgrove abutting Gloucester Park,Basildon
Received 28 Nov 2005Former Kores Nordic Site,West Road,Harlow,CM20 2AL
Received 19 Feb 2013Colchester Quarry (Bellhouse), Warren Lane, Colchester, Essex
Received 5 Feb 2015Staples Road Primary School, Staples Road, Loughton, IG101HR
Received 3 Dec 2014Yard 6, A1 Vans And Trucks, Telford Road, Clacton On Sea, CO15 4LP
Received 8 Mar 2019Stewards Yard,Stewards Yard,Wakering Road,Shoebury,Southend-on-Sea,SS3 9TR
Received 9 Nov 1995Land at Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall End, Witham, CM8 3EX
Received 12 Feb 2018Roding Valley High School, Alderton Hill, Loughton, IG10 3JA
Received 24 Oct 2017Land to the north A12, Trunk road at Cuckoo Farm (Park & Ride),Cuckoo Farm,Boxted Road,Mile End,Colchester,CO4 5HH
Received 28 Jul 2014Shorefields School, 114, Holland Road, Clacton-on-sea, CO156HF
Received 25 Jun 2012Records 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