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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Widdington Pit, Hollow Road, Widdington, Saffon Walden, CM11 3SL
Received 3 Jul 2013Moulsham High, Junior & Infant School,Brian Close,Chelmsford,CM2 9ES
Received 3 Oct 2005Notley Green County Primary School,Blickling Road,Great Notley,Braintree,CM7 7LJ
Received 1 Apr 2003Former Leca Works,Ongar Landfill Site,Mill Lane,Ongar,CM5 9RG
Received 3 Dec 2001Bulls Lodge Quarry, Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 25 Jan 2022North & West Essex Adult Community College, Rivermill Centre, Hodings Road, Harlow, CM201NW
Received 30 Jul 2015Land between the A120 and A133, to the east of Colchester and west of Elmstead Market
Received 3 Dec 2024Frinton County Primary School,Witton Wood Road,Frinton-on-Sea,CO13 9LA
Received 15 May 2001Moulsham Infant and Junior Schools, Princes Road, Chelmsford, CM2 9DG
Received 18 May 2015Land to the north A12, Trunk road at Cuckoo Farm (Park & Ride),Cuckoo Farm,Boxted Road,Mile End,Colchester,CO4 5HH
Received 28 Jul 2014East Mersea Centre for Outdoor Learning,Rewsalls Lane,off East Road,East Mersea,Colchester,CO5 8SY
Received 17 Jun 1998Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, CM9 8BQ
Received 26 Feb 2018Star Lane Brickworks,Star Lane Brickworks,Great Wakering,Southend-on-Sea
Received 3 Aug 1998Land off Lower Road,Bartons Farm,Hockley
Received 15 Jan 2001Bradwell Pit,Bradwell Quarry,Coggeshall Road,Bradwell,Braintree,CM77 8EP
Received 7 Nov 1995The Westerings Primary School, Sunny Road, Hawkwell, SS5 4NZ
Received 9 Feb 2018Wells Park School, School Lane, Chigwell, Essex, IG7 6NN
Received 28 Sept 2026Chalk Farm Quarry,Chalk Farm,Newport,Saffron Walden,CB11 3RX
Received 9 Oct 1985R A Butler Infant School,Stanley Wilson Lodge,Four Acres,Saffron Walden,CB11 3JD
Received 21 Nov 2005Takeley Primary School, Roseacres, Takeley, CM22 6QY
Received 3 Jul 2015Oakview School,Whitehills Road,Loughton,IG10 1TS
Received 29 Mar 2010The White Bridge County Infant & Junior School, Greensted Road, Loughton, IG103DR
Received 15 Mar 2016Land At Archers Fields, Pitsea, Basildon, Essex, SS13 1DH
Received 27 May 2026Villa Pit,Villa Farm (Cockaynes Wood),Alresford,Colchester,CO7 9JZ
Received 12 Jun 2000Records 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