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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
White Court County Primary School,Ennerdale Avenue,London Road,Braintree,CM777UE
Received 22 Dec 2005Land at Colemans Farm, Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall, Witham, CM8 3EX
Received 30 Aug 2016Land at Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road (A120), Braintree CO5 9DF
Received 23 Jun 2023Biogen Halstead AD Plant, Bluebridge Industrial Estate, Sixth Avenue, Halstead, CO9 2FL
Received 23 Jul 2024Holly Lodge,72 London Road,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0HA
Received 14 Jul 2011Land adjacent to Cressing Road,Faulkbourne Farm,Witham
Received 16 Apr 2009Holy Trinity CofE Primary School, Fiddlers Folley, Fordham Heath, Colchester, CO3 9UE,
Received 20 Jun 2011Armigers Farm, Stanbrook Road, Thaxted, Essex, CM6 2NN
Received 11 Sept 2024Nazeing County Primary School,Hyde Mead,Nazeing,Waltham Abbey,EN9 2HS
Received 6 Jul 2010Bradwell Quarry, Rivenhall Airfield, near Silver End
Received 15 Jan 2014Wivenhoe Quarry, Alresford Road, Wivenhoe, Essex, CO7 9JU
Received 29 Jun 2020Land between the A120 and A133, to the east of Colchester and west of Elmstead Market
Received 15 Nov 2024Barnes Farm County Junior School, Henniker Gate, Springfield, Chelmsford, CM2 6QH
Received 10 May 2018Brittons Hall Farm,Roxwell Landfill,Chignal St James,Chelmsford,CM1 4TZ
Received 11 Jan 2000Great Baddow Library, High Street, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 7HH
Received 14 Mar 2023Ramsden Hall School, School Road, Langham, Colchester, CO4 5PA
Received 27 Apr 2012Lufkins Farm, Great Bentley Road, Frating, CO7 7HN
Received 8 Apr 2024Great Berry Primary School, Forest Glade, Basildon SS16 6SG
Received 30 Mar 1998Park Farm, Park Lane, Tolleshunt Knights, Maldon, CM9 8HB
Received 2 Apr 2012Stanley Drapkin County Primary School,Bower Hall Drive,Steeple Bumpstead,Haverhill,CB9 7ED
Received 23 Oct 2002Whitmore County Infant and Junior School, Whitmore Way, Basildon, Essex, SS14 2TP
Received 25 Aug 2015Mill Lane, High Ongar, CM5 9RG
Received 11 Feb 2014Land adjacent to Park Farm, Channels Drive, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3PX.
Received 16 May 2022Pelhams Farm,Cherry Orchard Lane,Rochford
Received 21 Dec 2001Records 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