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.
6,826 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn. Received dates in our records: 12 Dec 1938 to 15 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
(Former Furtherwick Park School site),Castle View School,Foksville Road,Canvey,SS8 7AZ
Received 26 Jul 2011Land at Colchester Quarry, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, Essex, CO3 0NN
Received 30 Nov 2022Great Baddow School,Duffield Road,Great Baddow,Chelmsford,CM2 9RZ
Received 28 Sept 2010Land at Colemans Farm Quarry, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall End, Witham, CM8 3EX
Received 9 Nov 2021Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP
Received 20 Mar 2020Anglo European High School,Willow Green,Ingatestone,CM4 0DJ
Received 14 Feb 2001Drakes Farm,Russell Green Reservoir,Drakes Farm,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3BD
Received 21 Jul 1997Whitmore County Infant and Junior School, Whitmore Way, Basildon, SS14 2TP
Received 19 Jul 2016Danbury Park County Primary School,Well Lane,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM3 4AB
Received 31 Mar 2008Tile Kiln Farm, Sible Hedingham, Halstead, Essex, CO9 1UP
Received 23 Feb 2024Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 6 Dec 2013James Hornsby High School,Leinster Road,Laindon,Basildon,SS155NX
Received 30 Mar 2004Westerings Primary Academy, Sunny Road, Hawkwell, SS5 4NZ
Received 13 Oct 2017Glenwood School, Rushbottom Lane, Thundersley, Benfleet, Essex, SS7 4LW
Received 19 Aug 2024The Westerings Primary School, Sunny Road, Hawkwell, SS5 4NZ
Received 9 Feb 2018Fen Farm,Fen Chase,Elmstead Market,Colchester,CO7 7HA
Received 19 Mar 2003Woodlands School,Takeley End,Kingswood,Basildon,SS165BA
Received 31 Jan 2012Kendall Primary School, Recreation Road, Colchester, CO1 2HH
Received 22 Jul 2020Bradwell Quarry,Coggeshall Road,Bradwell,Braintree,CM77 8EP
Received 17 Nov 1998Farmland adjacent to Wethersfield Road,Sible Hedingham,Halstead
Received 22 Jun 2005Land at Colemans Farm Quarry, Little Braxted Lane, Witham, Essex, CM8 3EX
Received 4 Nov 2021Shorefields School, 114, Holland Road, Clacton-on-sea, CO156HF
Received 25 Jun 2012Biffa Waste Services Ltd, Cambridge Road, Ugley, Bishop's Stortford, CM226HT
Received 29 Dec 2011Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Great Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 2 Aug 2022Records 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