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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 12 Oct 2026. Most recent record check: 16 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Rockhills Scrap Yard, Norton Heath Road, Willingale
Received 11 Feb 2003Land between Courtauld Road (Burnt Mills Indus Estate) and A127 (Southend Arterial Road) and land immediately to the north of the A127, Basildon.,Basildon
Received 9 Jan 2007Coopers Beach Hoilday Park,Church Lane,East Mersea,Colchester,CO5 8TN
Received 6 Mar 2012Land to the east of Buttleys Lane, Stortford Road, Great Dunmow, CM6 1SH
Received 28 Jan 2025Bellhouse Landfill Site,Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 22 Mar 1994Rayne County Primary School,Capel Road,Rayne,Braintree,CM7 5BZ
Received 5 May 2004Broomfield Primary School,School Lane,Broomfield,Chelmsford,CM1 7DN
Received 16 Jan 2001Great Clacton Junior School,Burrsville Infant School,Craigfield Avenue,Clacton on Sea,CO15 4HR
Received 1 Feb 2006Roscommon Way,Canvey
Received 3 Oct 2006Land west of Winsford Way, Winsford Way, Springfield, Chelmsford, CM2 5AA
Received 27 Aug 2015Land at Colemans Farm, Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall, Witham, CM8 3EX
Received 23 Jun 2016Glenwood School, Rushbottom Lane, Thundersley, Benfleet, Essex, SS7 4LW
Received 24 Jul 2024Highwood Quarry, Little Canfield, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 2 Oct 2024Barling Marsh Quarry and Landfill Site,Mucking Hall Road,Barling Magna,Rochford,SS3 0NR
Received 18 Nov 2008Barnes Farm Infant & Junior Schools,Henniker Gate,Chelmer Village,Chelmsford,CM2 6QH
Received 22 Oct 2002Curry Farm,Mill End,Bradwell-on-Sea,Maldon,CM0 7HL
Received 16 Aug 2007Ugley Landfill Site, Cambridge Road, Ugley, CM22 6HT
Received 7 Aug 2020Land to the North of Hovefields Court, Hovefields Avenue, Basildon, Essex, SS13 1EB
Received 29 Apr 2016Vacant Land, Circular Road East, Colchester
Received 17 Jun 2013Green Acres,Old Packards Lane,Wormingford,Colchester,CO6 3AH
Received 2 Apr 2007Harlowbury Primary School site, Gilden Way, Harlow
Received 10 Jan 2020Notley Green County Primary School,Blickling Road,Great Notley,Braintree,CM7 7LJ
Received 30 May 2002Plummers Road,Green Acres,Old Packards Lane,Wormingford,Colchester,CO6 3AH
Received 5 Oct 2001Highwoods Quarry, Stortford Road, Dunmow CM6 1SL
Received 13 Apr 2020Records 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