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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Sandon Quarry,Southend Road,Chelmsford,CM2 7TE
Received 12 May 1994Green Acres,Old Packards Lane,Wormingford,Colchester,CO6 3AH
Received 14 Sept 2012Takeley GM Primary School, Roseacres, Takeley, Essex, CM22 6QY
Received 12 Nov 2015Canvey Island Infants School, Long Road, Canvey Island SS8 0JG
Received 9 Nov 2020Kingswode Hoe School, Sussex Road, Colchester, CO3 3QJ
Received 17 Sept 2018Land between Beaulieu Park (north of Generals Lane), Boreham Parish, and Deres Bridge Roundabout on A131, Great & Little Leighs Parish, to the north east of Chelmsford
Received 12 Nov 2024Mill Lane, High Ongar, CM5 9RG
Received 11 Feb 2014Regiment Way Golf Centre,Essex Regiment Way,Little Waltham,Chelmsford,CM3 3PR
Received 4 Mar 2011Elmstead Hall, Elmstead, Colchester, CO7 7EX
Received 8 Mar 2019Land At Archers Fields, Pitsea, Basildon, Essex, SS13 1DH
Received 27 May 2026Inworth Grange Farm Pit, Grange Road, Tiptree, CO5 0QQ
Received 18 Aug 2021Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road Rayne, Braintree, Essex CM77 6SB
Received 13 May 2022Beaulieu Park Education Campus Site, Beaulieu, Chelmsford
Received 23 Jan 2017Elmstead Hall, Tye Road, Elmstead, Colchester, Essex
Received 8 Aug 2024Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 20 Sept 2001Bradwell Power Station, Downhall Beach, Bradwell-on-sea, Essex, CM0 7HP
Received 20 Dec 2022Cordons Farm, Long Green, Cressing, Braintree, CM778DL
Received 3 May 2013By eastbound A127 slip off road at A176 junction,Land adjacent A1245 and A139,Basildon
Received 15 Dec 2010Arnolds Farm Business Centre, 221 Ongar Road, Lambourne, Romford, Essex, RM4 1RH
Received 19 Jul 2024Land to the west of Winsford Way, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 5AA
Received 1 Sept 2014Ford Street Bridge,A1124 Ford Street,Aldham,Colchester
Received 16 Feb 2006Richard De Clare Primary School,Parsonage Street,Halstead,CO9 2JT
Received 30 Jun 2003Sandon Quarry,Southend Road,Chelmsford,CM2 7TE
Received 30 Mar 2011Mapledean Pig Farm,Mapledean Chase,Latchingdon,Burnham-on-Crouch,CM3 6GL
Received 10 May 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.

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