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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Canvey Island Infants School, Long Road, Canvey Island SS8 0JG
Received 26 May 2020Asheldham Quarry, Southminster Road, Asheldham, CM0 7DZ
Received 22 May 2013Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP, and land south of Cut Hedge Lane
Received 29 Jul 2016Dunmow Waste Management, Essex Regiment Way, Little Waltham, Chelmsford, CM3 3PZ
Received 14 May 2015Land at Colchester Quarry, Warren lane, Stanway Colchester C03 0NN
Received 1 Feb 2018BRAINTREE SEWAGE TREATMENT WORKS, SKITTS HILL, BRAINTREE,Braintree WwTW,Skitts Hill,Braintree
Received 7 Mar 1997Rettendon Turnpike to Rayleigh Spur,Rettendon Turnpike to Rayleigh Spur
Received 3 Feb 1997Holy Trinity Church Of England Primary School, Fiddlers Folly, Fordham Heath, CO3 9UE
Received 13 Jul 2021Chelmsford Water Recycling Centre, Brook End Road South, Springfield, Chelmsford, CM2 6NZ
Received 22 Feb 2019Felsted Primary School,Watch House Green,Felsted,Dunmow,CM6 3EB
Received 23 Nov 2007Freshwaters Primary Academy, School Lane, Harlow, CM20 3QA
Received 2 Dec 2019Highwoods Youth Centre,Highwoods Approach,Colchester
Received 8 Apr 2004Great Bradfields Infant School & Nursery,Great Bradfords Infant School,Marlborough Road,Braintree,CM7 9LW
Received 29 Apr 2003Land between Sheering Road and the M11 Motorway
Received 24 Apr 2020Land to the North of Hovefields Court, Hovefields Avenue, Basildon, Essex, SS13 1EB
Received 29 Apr 2016Springfield Primary School,Forsythia Close,Chelmsford,CM1 6XW
Received 11 Jan 2011The Plume School, Fambridge Road, Maldon, Essex, CM9 6AB
Received 4 Jun 2026Briscoe County Junior & Infant School, Felmores End, Pitsea, Basildon
Received Not publishedNorth of Chelmsford, Essex, along Chelmer Valley Road (A1016),
Received 6 Jan 2020Essex County Council Waste Transfer Station, Chelmsford Road, Great Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1LW
Received 19 Apr 2022Beaulieu Park Education Campus site, Beaulieu, Chelmsford
Received 7 Dec 2017High Laver Hall Farm, Ongar. CM5 0DU
Received 26 Mar 2004Ardleigh Waste Transfer Station, Colchester Eastern Bypass (A120), Ardleigh, CO7 7SL
Received 10 May 2018Land between the A120 and A133, to the east of Colchester and west of Elmstead Market
Received 16 Sept 2024Records 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