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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 14 Mar 2006Widdington Pit, Hollow Road, Widdington, CB11 3SL
Received 19 Jun 2014Wentworth Primary School, Viking Road, Maldon, Essex, CM9 6JN
Received 27 Jun 2022Colchester Quarry, Warren Lane, Stanway, Essex, CO3 0NN
Received 15 Jan 2024Frobisher Primary & Nursery School,Frobisher Drive,Jaywick,Clacton on Sea,CO15 2QH
Received 5 Jul 2011Tile Kiln Quarry, (Foxborough Hills),Sible Hedingham,Halstead
Received 3 Nov 2003Katherine Semar Junior School,Ross Close,Saffron Walden,Saffron Walden,CB11 4DU
Received 15 Dec 2005Maldon County Primary School,Wantz Close,Maldon,CM9 5DQ
Received 7 Apr 2008Land At Archers Fields, Pitsea, Basildon, Essex, SS13 1DH
Received 27 May 2026Former Severalls Hospital Site, Northern Approach Road (Phase 3), Colchester, Essex, CO4 5HG
Received 20 Jul 2015Martell's Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh. Colchester, CO7 7RU
Received 9 Nov 2017Land to the south of Colchester Main Road, Alresford, Nr Colchester, C07 8DB
Received 4 Oct 2022Cressing Temple,Braintree Road,Witham,CM77 8PD
Received 22 Dec 2010Sandon Quarry,Southend Road,Chelmsford,CM2 7TE
Received Not publishedBulls Lodge Quarry, Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 21 Dec 2020Asheldham Quarry, Southminster Road, Asheldham, Essex, CM0 7DZ
Received 31 Mar 2015Highwood Quarry, Little Canfield, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 19 Dec 2023Bulls Lodge Quarry (Boreham Airfield), Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 22 Oct 2024Great Tey CofE Primary School,Chrismund Way,Great Tey,Colchester,CO6 1AZ
Received 28 Jan 2005Edas Wickford Centre, Alderney Gardens, Wickford SS11 7JZ
Received 9 Mar 2021Doddinghurst County Infant School, Church Lane, Doddinghurst, CM15 0NJ
Received 16 Mar 2021The Willows Primary School, Church Road, Basildon, SS14 2EX
Received 21 May 2018Columbus School and College,Patching Hall Lane,Chelmsford,CM1 4BX
Received 25 Oct 2001The Hermitage,Shenfield Road,Brentwood,CM15 8AG
Received 22 May 2002Records 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