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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Lee Chapel County Primary School,The Knares,Basildon,SS16 5RU
Received 14 Jun 2002Burnham Library, Station Road, Burnham-on-crouch, Essex, CM0 8HQ
Received 5 May 2026Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 21 Dec 2010Felsted Caravan Site, Gypsy Lane, Little Dunmow, CM6 3HH
Received 21 Nov 2017Land at Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Braintree, Essex, Rayne
Received 25 Jul 2023Bellhouse Landfill Site,Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 31 Aug 1995Ongar Landfill Site,Mill Lane,Ongar,CM5 9RG
Received 8 Oct 1998Daisy House & adjacent land, Haven Road, Colchester, CO2 8HT
Received 1 Oct 2020Land at Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell on Sea, Southminster, Essex, CM0 7HQ
Received 9 Sept 2020Land at Andrewes Way, Wolsey Park, Rayleigh, Essex
Received 1 Dec 2025Cory Environmental, Mucking Hall Road, Barling Magna, Southend-on-sea, SS3 0NR
Received 20 Aug 2014Stebbing Primary School,Stebbing County Primary School,High Street,Stebbing,Dunmow,CM6 3SH
Received 28 Mar 2003Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road (A120), Braintree, CO5 9DF
Received 29 Oct 2025Beaulieu Park Education Campus site, Beaulieu, Chelmsford
Received 9 Mar 2018Clacton Family Centre, 5 Russell Road, Clacton On Sea, CO15 6BE
Received 9 Jun 2020Merrylands Primary School,Cumberland Avenue,Laindon,Basildon,SS156QS
Received 18 Dec 2002Thundersley Primary School, Dark Lane, Thundersley, Benfleet, SS7 3PT
Received 29 Jun 2018Colchester Quarry (Stanway Hall),Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 23 Sept 2015Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 5 Nov 2024Army and Navy Junction, Chelmsford
Received 9 Jan 2024Former Alderman Blaxhill Secondary School site, Paxman Avenue, Colchester, CO2 9DQ
Received 1 Mar 2019Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Easton, Near Great Dunmow, Essex
Received 22 Mar 2012Waltham Holy Cross Junior School,Quendon Drive,Monkswood Avenue,Waltham Abbey,EN9 1LG
Received 12 Apr 2001Unit 13,Rawreth Industrial Estate,Raweth Lane,Rayleigh,SS6 9RL
Received 22 Jul 2004Records 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.

Understanding planning · 13 min read
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