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.
6,830 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Bishops Park College,Jaywick Lane,Clacton on Sea,CO16 8BE
Received 10 Sept 2004Land at Colchester Quarry, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, Essex, CO3 0NN
Received 17 Sept 2026Dr Walkers CE Primary School,Walker Avenue,Fyfield,Ongar,CM5 0RG
Received 29 Sept 1999Cobb’s Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, CM9 8BQ
Received 5 Sept 2017Magnox Electric Plc, Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell-on-sea, Southminster, CM0 7HP
Received 20 Feb 2013Stock CoE Primary School,Swan Lane,Stock,Ingatestone,CM4 9BQ
Received 13 Mar 2008Church Lane,Marks Tey,Colchester,CO6 1LN
Received Not publishedHill Farm, RESERVOIR,Crown Lane,Tendring,Clacton-on-Sea,CO16 0BJ
Received 22 Jun 2007Friars Grove Infant School,Upland Drive,Colchester,CO4 0PZ
Received 27 Dec 2001The Downs Cp School, The Hides, Harlow, CM203RB
Received 16 Sept 2014Red House,School Road,Messing,Colchester,CO5 9TH
Received 6 Oct 1998Land at Wallasea Island, Rochford, SS4 2HD
Received 21 Apr 2015Thorrington WwTW,Brightlingsea
Received 24 Jul 2002Newport House,Molrams Lane,Great Baddow,Chelmsford,CM2 7TL
Received 13 Jan 2010Monkwick County Infant School,School Road,Colchester,CO2 8NN
Received 28 Aug 2007Land at Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road, Braintree, CO5 9DF
Received 7 Mar 2025Highwood Quarry, Little Canfield, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 13 Sept 2013Indaver Rivenhall IWMF, Coggeshall Road, Essex, Bradwell, CM77 8EF
Received 12 Oct 2023Land at Rayne Quarry, Broadfield Farm, Dunmow Road, Rayne, Braintree, CM77 6SA
Received 14 Mar 2025Land north of Bluebridge Industrial Estate,Halstead,CM9 2SZ
Received 22 Apr 2013Magnox Electric Plc, Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell-on-sea, Southminster, CM0 7HP
Received 10 Mar 2020Epping Library and Register Office,St Johns Road,Epping,CM16 5DN
Received 1 Feb 2000Asheldham Quarry, Southminster Road, Asheldham, Essex, CM0 7DZ
Received 21 Oct 2021Helena Romanes School, Parsonage Downs, Great Dunmow, Essex, CM6 2AU
Received 13 Jun 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.

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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