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.
6,826 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn. Received dates in our records: 12 Dec 1938 to 15 Oct 2026. Most recent record check: 17 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Hare Street Primary School and Nursery,Little Grove Field,Harlow,CM19 4BU
Received 24 Nov 2000Park Farm, Belsteads Farm Lane, Little Waltham, Chelmsford, CM3 3PX
Received 20 Jul 2023Fulmar Way, Wickford Business Park, Wickford, SS11 8YW
Received 27 Mar 2014See ESS 26 01 BRW screening Op,Ongar Landfill Site,Mill Lane,Ongar,CM5 9RG
Received 11 Dec 2001The Pioneer School,Ghylgrove,Basildon,SS142LA
Received 8 Feb 2010Great Leighs Primary School,Aragon Road,Great Leighs,Chelmsford
Received 2 Dec 2004Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Rayne, Braintree, Essex, CM77 6SB
Received 2 Aug 2024Ashlyns Farm, Epping Road, North Weald, Epping, CM16 6RZ
Received 28 Apr 2025Cedar Hall School,Hart Road,Thundersley,Benfleet,SS7 3UQ
Received 14 Feb 2006The Limes Childrens Home,The Limes,93 New Century Road,Laindon,Basildon,SS156AQ
Received 19 Mar 2009Land at Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road, Braintree, CO5 9DF
Received 13 Feb 2025Asheldham Quarry, Tillingham Road, Asheldham, Southminster, CM0 7DZ
Received 22 Jun 2018Elmstead Hall, Elmstead, Colchester, CO7 7EX
Received 8 Mar 2019Great Bardfield Primary School, Braintree Road, Great Bardfield, CM7 4RN
Received 22 Jun 2017Westlands Community Primary School,Beeches Close,Chelmsford,CM1 2SB
Received 22 Apr 2003Bradwell Nuclear Power Station,Bradwell on Sea,Maldon,CM0 7HP
Received 23 Aug 2011Highwood Quarry, Little Canfield, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 15 Nov 2016Ramsden Hall School,Ramsden Heath,Billericay,CM11 1HN
Received 30 Jun 2008Bellhouse Landfill, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 0NN
Received 15 Oct 2012Kent View Recreation Ground, Kent View Road, Pistea, Basildon
Received 18 Oct 2019Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon. CM9 8BQ
Received 13 Sept 2012Stebbing Primary School, High Street, Stebbing, CM6 3SH
Received 16 Nov 2020Chipping Hill Primary School, Owers Road, Witham, CM8 1FR
Received 11 Jan 2012Stansted to Braintree A120,Braintree
Received 27 Oct 2000Records 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