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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Bulls Lodge Quarry, Boreham,Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 26 Nov 1990Harlow Waste Transfer Station, West Place, Templefields, Harlow, CM20 2GY
Received 3 Feb 2026Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Canfield, Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 6 Sept 2019Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 17 Jun 2011Edward Francis Infants & Junior Schools,Uplands Park Road,Rayleigh
Received 29 May 2002Rettendon Turnpike to Rayleigh Spur,Rettendon Turnpike to Rayleigh Spur,Basildon
Received 3 Feb 1997Mountnessing Church Of England Primary School, Roman Road, Mountnessing, CM15 0UH
Received 22 Feb 2021Bishops Stortford Sewage Works, Jenkins Lane, Great Hallingbury, CM22 7QL
Received 24 Jun 2019Discovery Centre, Great Notley Country Park, London Road, Great Notley, CM77 7FS
Received 29 Jul 2021The Greensward College,Greensward Lane,Hockley,SS5 5HG
Received 16 Nov 2004Colemans Farm Quarry, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall End, Witham, CM8 3EX
Received 4 Dec 2018Montgomery Infant School & Nursery, Baronswood Way, Colchester, CO2 9QG
Received 5 Jun 2018Old Heath County Primary School,Old Heath Road,Colchester,CO2 8DD
Received 20 Jul 2007Sandon,Sandon Quarry,Southend Road,Chelmsford,CM2 7TE
Received Not publishedLand at Stebbingford Farm, Stebbing, Essex,Stebbing,Dunmow
Received 5 Sept 2002Oyster Haven Business Park, Haven Road, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8HT
Received 3 Jul 2023St Helena School,Sheepen Road,Colchester,CO3 3LE
Received 31 May 2005Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP
Received 11 Jan 2017Wallasea Island, Creeksea Ferry Road, SS4 2HD
Received 16 Mar 2015Tendring Education Centre, Jaywick Lane, Clacton On Sea, Essex, CO16 8BE
Received 4 Apr 2022Great Bradfords Infant School,Marlborough Road,Braintree,CM7 9LW
Received 19 Nov 2009Home Farm, Hall Road, Gaunts End, Elsenham, Essex, CM22 6DR
Received 18 Jun 2026Blackley Quarry, Gt Leighs, Braintree, CM3 1QP
Received 28 Aug 2026Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 8 Jul 2014Records 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.

Understanding planning · 13 min read
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