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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Tudor House, 47a London Road,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 5PN
Received 21 Sept 1999Glenwood Special School, Rushbottom Lane, Thundersley, Benfleet, SS7 4LW
Received 26 Sept 2016Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell-on-sea, Southminster, CM0 7HP
Received 11 Sept 2018The William de Ferrers School,Trinity Square,South Woodham Ferrers,Chelmsford,CM3 5JU
Received 14 Aug 2009Springfield Primary School,Forsythia Close,Chelmsford,CM1 6XW
Received 26 Sept 2001Bulls Lodge Quarry, Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 16 Mar 2015Land off Remembrance Avenue, Beaulieu, Chelmsford, Essex
Received 16 Dec 2022Wivenhoe Quarry, Alresford Road, WIVENHOE, CO7 9JU
Received 8 Dec 2017Land adjacent to Glenwood Special School, Rushbottom Lane, Thundersley, Benfleet, SS7 4LW
Received 16 Jun 2017Harlow Rail Depot,Station Approach,Harlow,CM20 2EL
Received 17 Feb 2003Woodlands School,Takeley End,Kingswood,Basildon,SS165BA
Received 31 Jan 2012Site east of the farm yard, Anaerobic Digestion plant, Marsh Farm, Vange by-Pass, VANGE, SS16 4QG
Received 8 Aug 2016Brook End Water Treatment Works, Chelmsford to Langford Water Treatment Works, Maldon
Received 15 Nov 2013Land north of Bluebridge Industrial Estate,Halstead,CM9 2SZ
Received 22 Apr 2013Ambulance Station, Chelmsford Road, Dunmow, CM6 1LW
Received 12 Mar 2013Ugley Landfill Site,Cambridge Road,Stansted Mountfitchet,CM22 6HT
Received 27 Sept 2010Pitsea Landfill, Pitsea Hall Lane, Pitsea, Essex, SS16 4UH
Received 11 Jan 2023Highwoods Quarry, Stortford Road, Dunmow CM6 1SL
Received 13 Apr 2020Danbury Park County Primary School,Well Lane,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM3 4AB
Received 6 Feb 2003Birch Quarry, Maldon Road, Colchester, CO5 9XE
Received 14 Sept 2018Shenfield Library, Hutton Road, Shenfield, CM15 8NJ
Received 18 Mar 2021The Colne Community School,Church Road,Brightlingsea,CO7 0QL
Received 3 Aug 2004Old Hall, Church Road, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3EJ
Received 5 Jul 2013Dedham C of E Primary School,Parsons Field,Dedham,Colchester,CO7 6BZ
Received 17 Sept 2008Records 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