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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
The Phoenix Primary School and Nursery, Leinster Road, Basildon, Essex, SS15 5NQ
Received 28 Sept 2016Essex County Council Waste Transfer Station, Winsford Way, Boreham ,Chelmsford, CM2 5PD
Received 2 Feb 2026Land between the A120 and A133, to the east of Colchester and west of Elmstead Market
Received 29 Aug 2024Crumps Farm,Stortford Rd,Little Canfield,Great Dunmow,CM6 1SR
Received 24 Mar 2003Castle View School,Foksville Road,Canvey,SS8 7AZ
Received 27 Sept 2005Colchester Quarry (Bellhouse), Warren Lane, Stanway, Essex, CO3 0NN
Received 28 Sept 2020Cory Environmental Ltd, Bellhouse Landfill, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 0NN
Received 18 Dec 2012Hedingham School,Yeldham Road,Sible Hedingham,Halstead,CO9 3QH
Received 17 Jun 2005Wallasea Island,Rochford,SS4 2HD
Received 11 Sept 2012Blackley Quarry, Gt Leighs, Braintree, CM3 1QP
Received 26 Nov 2019Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road (A120), Braintree, CO5 9DF
Received 17 Mar 2025Blackwater Aggregates, Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, Braintree, CM778EP
Received 14 May 2013The Willows Primary School, Church Road, Basildon, Essex, SS14 2EX
Received 22 Sept 2022Burnham on Crouch County Primary School,Dunkirk Road,Burnham on Crouch,CM0 8LG
Received 6 Jan 1999Elmstead Hall, Elmstead, Colchester
Received 8 Oct 2025Galleywood Infants School,Barnard Road,Galleywood,Chelmsford,CM2 8RR
Received 11 Feb 2009Land at Colchester Quarry, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, Essex, CO3 0NN
Received 5 Nov 2024Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 29 Nov 2007Stanway Hall Quarry, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester
Received 20 Dec 2013Great Baddow School,Duffield Road,Great Baddow,Chelmsford,CM2 9RZ
Received 20 Dec 2007Barnes Farm Infant & Junior Schools,Henniker Gate,Chelmer Village,Chelmsford,CM2 6QH
Received 21 Sept 2007Wilson Marriage Centre, Barrack Street, Colchester, Essex, CO1 2LR
Received 11 Jul 2022Bellhouse Landfill Site,Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 20 Nov 1996Lufkins Farm,Thorrington Road,Great Bentley,Colchester,CO7 7HN
Received 19 Jun 2007Records 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