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6,825 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Asheldham Quarry, Southminster Road, Asheldham, Essex, CM0 7DZ
Received 31 Mar 2015Land between Beaulieu Park (north of Generals Lane), Boreham Parish, and Deres Bridge roundabout on A131, Great Leighs Parish, to NE Chelmsford
Received 13 Jan 2025Green Acres,Old Packards Lane,Wormingford,Colchester,CO6 3AH
Received 9 Mar 2005Little Waltham C Of E Primary School, The Street, Little Waltham, Chelmsford, CM3 3NY
Received 16 Mar 2017Broomfield Place,189 Main Road,Broomfield,Chelmsford,CM1 7EQ
Received 19 Jun 2006Birch Airfield Composting Services Ltd, Blind Lane, Birch, Nr Colchester, CO5 9XE
Received 21 Jun 2019Wivenhoe Quarry, Alresford Road, Wivenhoe, Colchester, Essex, CO7 9JU
Received 21 Oct 2014Hovefield Avenue, Courtauld Road, Basildon, Essex, SS13 1EB
Received 21 Aug 2015Unit 5-7,Hallsford Bridge Ind Est,Stondon Rd,Ongar,CM5 9RB
Received 2 Jan 2002Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP
Received 3 Sept 2018Bradwell Quarry,Coggeshall Road,Bradwell,Braintree,CM77 8EP
Received 13 Oct 2005Shell Oil Distribution Site,Hedingham Road,Gosfield,Halstead,CO9 1PN
Received 25 Nov 2004Land adjacent to Cressing Road,Faulkbourne Farm,Witham
Received 29 Jan 2013Potter Street Primary School, Carters Mead, Harlow, CM179EU
Received 5 May 2016St James CofE Primary School,Paringdon Road,Harlow,CM18 7RH
Received 3 Aug 2004Roxwell Landfill, Brittons Hall Farm, Near Chelmsford, Roxwell, Essex, CM14LT
Received 2 Dec 2011Home Farm, Hall Road, Gaunts End, Elsenham, Essex, CM22 6DR
Received 20 Apr 2026Ugley Landfill Site, Cambridge Road, UGLEY, CM22 6HT
Received 5 Jan 2017Harlow Fields School,Tendring Road,Harlow,CM18 6RN
Received 30 Oct 1998Land at Colchester Quarry, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, Essex, CO3 0NN
Received 3 Sept 2025FELSTED COUNTY PRIMARY SCHOOL, WATCHHOUSE GREEN , FELSTED, DUNMOW,Felsted Primary School,Watch House Green,Felsted,Dunmow,CM6 3EB
Received 14 Aug 2003Land off St Luke's Way, Runwell, Wickford
Received 9 Feb 2021High Beech C of E Primary School,Mott Street,Loughton,IG10 4AP
Received 23 Jun 2004Asheldham Quarry, Southminster Road, Asheldham, Essex, CM0 7DZ
Received 28 Mar 2025Records 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