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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Recycling Centre For Household Waste, Braintree Road, Shalford, Essex. CM7 5HQ
Received 26 Sept 2017Boreham Proving Ground,Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 10 Oct 2012Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP, and land south of Cuthedge Lane.
Received 8 Jun 2023See ESS/11/00/col,Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 28 Jul 2016Greensted Junior School,Kirby Road,Basildon,SS141RX
Received 18 Jun 2001Bradfield County Primary School,Heath Rd,Bradfield,Manningtree,CO11 2UZ
Received 29 Jul 2003Ravenscroft County Primary School,Nayland Drive,Clacton on Sea,CO16 8TZ
Received 10 Dec 2009Land at Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 16 Feb 2024Wallasea Island,Rochford,SS4 2HD
Received 14 Dec 2012Land at Colemans Farm, Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall, Witham, CM8 3EX
Received 2 Sept 2016Preferred Area K, Liitle Easton,Little Easton Airfield,Little Easton,Dunmow,CM6 2BB
Received 26 Oct 2006Bulls Lodge Quarry, Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 9 Jun 2014Land at Colemans Farm, Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall, Witham, CM8 3EX
Received 23 Jun 2016Cold Norton County Primary School, 2 St Stephens Road, Cold Norton, Essex, CM3 6JE
Received 10 May 2024Braintree Waste Transfer Station, Cordons Farm, Long Green, Cressing, Braintree, CM77 8DL
Received 10 May 2018St Clere's Hall Pit,Main Road,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM3 4AR
Received 16 Dec 2010Gosbecks Primary School, Owen Ward Close, Colchester, CO2 9DG
Received 22 Oct 2014Canvey Island Library,High Street,Canvey,SS8 7RB
Received 4 Jun 2010Chappel C of E Primary School,The Street,Chappel,Colchester,CO6 2DD
Received 16 Dec 2008Land at Lodge Farm,Lodge Farm,Lodge Farm Lane,St Osyth,Clacton-0n-Sea,CO16 8SA
Received 26 Aug 1998Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon, CM9 8BQ
Received 30 Nov 2015Bulls Lodge Quarry
Received 22 Jan 2008Bocking Church Street Primary School, Church Street, Braintree, CM7 5LA
Received 4 Jun 2014East Essex Adult Community College, The Friary, Carmelite Way, Maldon, Essex, CM9 5FJ
Received 7 Jul 2015Records 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