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6,826 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Arnolds Farm Business Centre, 221 Ongar Road, Lambourne, Romford, Essex, RM4 1RH
Received 19 Jul 2024Newport Chalk Quarry, Chalk Farm Lane, Newport, Saffron Walden, Essex
Received 14 Feb 2025De La Salle RC School, Ghyllgrove, Basildon, SS142LA
Received 16 Jan 2012Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon, CM9 8BQ
Received 2 Feb 2017The Heybridge Centre, The Street, Heybridge CM9 4NB,The Heybridge Centre,The Street,Heybridge,Maldon,CM9 4NB
Received 2 Aug 1999Clacton Library, 96 Station Road, Clacton On Sea, Essex, CO15 1SF
Received 29 Nov 2024Clacton County High School, Walton Road, Clacton On Sea, CO15 6DZ
Received 26 Mar 2021Quilters Infant & Junior School,Laindon Road,Billericay,CM12 9LD
Received 26 Apr 2011Mayflower School,Stock Road,Billericay,CM12 0RT
Received 27 Jul 2004Sandon Quarry,Southend Road,Chelmsford,CM2 7TE
Received Not publishedColumbus School and College,Patching Hall Lane,Chelmsford,CM1 4BX
Received 26 Jan 1999Liitle Easton,Little Easton Airfield,Little Easton,Dunmow,CM6 2BB
Received 12 Dec 2011Bulls Lodge Quarry
Received 15 May 20131FE Expansion of the Joyce Frankland Aca, Joyce Frankland Acadamy, Essex, Newport, CB11 3TR
Received 5 Jan 2017Nazeing Quarry,Green Lane,Nazeing,Waltham Abbey,EN10 6TD
Received 17 Mar 1966Cory Environmental, Mucking Hall Road, Barling Magna, Southend-on-sea, SS3 0NR
Received 31 Jul 2012Land North of Generals Lane Roundabout, Generals Lane, Boreham. Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 3HJ
Received 21 Feb 2025Maylandsea County Primary School,Katonia Avenue,Mayland,Maldon,CM3 6AD
Received 11 Mar 2010Great Holts Farm,Gt Holts & Wallaces Farm,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3AU
Received 4 Nov 1994Land at Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 25 Sept 2018Park Farm, Belsteads Farm Lane, Little Waltham, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 3PX
Received 15 Jun 2023Land at Rivenhall Airfield Coggeshall Road, Braintree, CO5 9DF
Received 28 Aug 2024Old Hall and Generals Farms,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM2 6GF
Received 17 Jun 2011Harlow Integrated Support Service,Harlow Integrated Support Centre (Former Commonside Special School),Commonside Road,Harlow,CM18 7EZ
Received 11 Mar 2010Records 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