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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Land adjacent to A120, A120 North, Ardleigh, Colchester, Essex, CO7 7SL
Received 31 Oct 2013Colbayns High School,Pathfields Road,Clacton on Sea,CO15 3JL
Received 15 Jun 2005Bradwell Quarry,Coggeshall Road,Bradwell,Braintree,CM77 8EP
Received 11 Sept 2003Hockley Primary School, Chevening Gardens, Hockley, SS5 4UR
Received 19 Feb 2020Colchester WwTW,Haven Road,The Hythe,Colchester,CO2 8HT
Received 19 Nov 2010Honywood School,Westfield Drive,Coggeshall,Colchester,CO6 1PZ
Received 29 May 2003Land at Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell on Sea, Southminster, Essex, CM0 7HP
Received 2 Jul 2024Essex Regiment Way,Broomfield,Chelmsford,CM3 3PR
Received 9 Nov 2009Avocet, Shoeburyness MOD, Bridge Road, Shoeburyness, SS3 9XD
Received 28 Mar 2025Bellhouse Landfill Site,Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 8 Sept 1995Hilltop Junior School,Hilltop County Infants & Junior School,Hill Avenue,Wickford,SS11 8LT
Received 15 Mar 2002Wethersfield Primary School,Silver Street,Wethersfield,Braintree
Received 24 Mar 2003Warley East Sewage Treatment Works,Birds Lane,Gt Warley,Brentwood,CM13 3JX
Received 1 Sept 2003Bradwell Quarry, Bradwell, Essex, CO5 9DA
Received 19 Mar 2015Gilden Way and Sheering Road public highways and land between Sheering Road and M11 Motorway
Received 1 Jul 2020Veolia ES (UK) Ltd, Pitsea Hall Lane, Pitsea, Essex, SS16 4UH
Received 9 Oct 2023Cobs Farm , Maldon Road , Goldhanger, Maldon, CM9 8BQ
Received 4 Dec 2018PGR Materials Reclamation Facility,Archers Fields,Burnt Mills,Basildon,SS15 6DX
Received 19 Nov 1996Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 10 Oct 1997Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall End, Witham, Essex, CM8 3EX
Received 9 May 2025Glenwood School Rushbottom Lane Thundersley Benfleet Essex SS7 4LW
Received 22 Jan 2026Boreham Proving Ground, Bulls Lodge Quarry, Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 17 Feb 2020Glenwood School,Rushbottom Lane,New Thundersley,Benfleet,SS7 4LW
Received 9 Oct 2000Essex County Council Waste Transfer Station, Chelmsford Road, Great Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1LW
Received 15 Jul 2024Records 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