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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Woolmers Farm, Mumford Hill, Beazley End, Braintree, Essex CM7 5JJ
Received 30 Jun 2017Lufkins Farm, Great Bentley Road, Frating, CO7 7HN
Received 8 Apr 2024St Cleres Hall Pit, Main Road, Danbury, Essex, CM3 4AR
Received 23 Dec 2013Springfield Highways Depot, Colchester Road, Springfield, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 5PU
Received 6 Jan 2017Plots G4, G5, G6 & G7,Purdeys Industrial Estate,Purdeys Way,Rochford
Received 30 May 2007Birchanger Primary School, Birchwood, Birchanger, CM23 5QL
Received 13 Apr 2021Land to the east of Brickfields Way, Brickfields Way, Rochford, SS4 1NB
Received 24 Mar 2015Park Farm, Belsteads Farm Lane, Little Waltham, Chelmsford, CM3 3PX
Received 20 Jul 2023The Plume Mill Road campus, located to the north of Mill Road and East of Wantz Road, CM9 5DU
Received 11 Mar 2024Land to the north A12, Trunk road at Cuckoo Farm (Park & Ride),Cuckoo Farm,Boxted Road,Mile End,Colchester,CO4 5HH
Received 28 Jul 2014Hamford County Primary School,Elm Tree Avenue,Walton on the Naze,CO14 8TE
Received 28 Apr 2008Helena Romanes School,Parsonage Downs,Dunmow,CM6 2AY
Received 28 May 2004Curry Farm,Mill End,Bradwell-on-Sea,Maldon,CM0 7HL
Received 24 Nov 2006Newlands Spring Primary School, Dickens Place, Chelmsford CM1 4UU
Received 18 Sept 2017Braintree Waste Transfer Station, Cordons Farm, Long Green, Cressing, CM77 8DL
Received 11 Feb 2026James Hornsby High School,Leinster Road,Laindon,Basildon,SS155NX
Received 3 Aug 2010Crown Quarry (Wick Farm), Old Ipswich Road, Ardleigh, CO7 7QR
Received 5 Apr 2021Mill Lane, High Ongar, CM5 9RG
Received 11 Feb 2014Land at Sandon Quarry, Southend Road, Sandon, Howe Green, CM2 7TE
Received 28 Feb 2020Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project, Creeksea Ferry Road, Wallasea Island, SS4 2HD
Received 22 Mar 2021Clavering Primary School,Stortford Rd,Clavering,Saffron Walden,CB11 4PE
Received 30 Apr 2001Widdington Pit, Hollow Road, Widdington, Saffon Walden, CM11 3SL
Received 13 Dec 2011Elmstead Hall, Tye Road, Elmstead, Colchester, Essex
Received 29 Aug 2025Tiptree Basketworks & Woodyard,Grange Road,Tiptree,Colchester,CO5 0QQ
Received 16 Jan 2006Records 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