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6,830 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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: 18 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Colchester County High School for Girls,Norman Way,Colchester,CO3 3US
Received 2 Oct 2006Warners Farm, Howe St, Gt Waltham
Received 1 Oct 1990Land at Elmstead Hall, Elmstead, Colchester
Received 31 Aug 2023Lakelands Primary School', Land off Wagtail Mews, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 8AL
Received 27 Nov 2019Boreham Proving Ground,Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 24 Apr 2014Moreton Bridge,Moreton Bridge Road,Moreton,Ongar
Received 22 Oct 2007Former Heath School, Winstree Road, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 5QE
Received 7 Jun 2018Wivenhoe Quarry, Alresford Road, Wivenhoe, Colchester, Essex, CO7 9JU
Received 14 Feb 2013Arnolds Farm, 221 Ongar Road, Lambourne, Romford, RM4 1RH
Received 6 Sept 2021Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 27 Aug 2025Grange Road,Tiptree,Colchester,CO5 0QQ
Received 21 Jun 2007Land adjacent to A120, A120 North, Ardleigh, Colchester, Essex, CO7 7SL
Received 17 Jul 2014Great Baddow School,Duffield Road,Great Baddow,Chelmsford,CM2 9RZ
Received 1 Feb 2008Holly Trees County Primary School, Warley Hospital Site, Brentwood,Holly Trees Primary School,Vaughan Williams Way,Warley,Brentwood,CM14 5RY
Received 15 Sept 2000Land at: Elmstead Hall, Elmstead, Colchester, Essex
Received 22 May 2023The Hereward County Primary School, Colebrook Lane, Loughton, IG102HR
Received 1 Mar 2013The former Peter Kirk School, Stansted Mountfitchet,Peter Kirk Education Centre,St John's Road,Stansted Mountfitchet,CM248JP
Received 28 Jan 2005North Harlow,Threshers,Hastingwood Road,Hastingwood,Harlow,CM17 9JT
Received 13 Sept 1996Stisted STW, Water Lane, Stisted, Essex
Received 3 Sept 2012Land at Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Essex, CO7 7RU
Received 23 Apr 2024Great Leighs Primary School,Aragon Road,Great Leighs,Chelmsford
Received 24 Apr 2001Bradwell,Bradwell Quarry,Coggeshall Road,Bradwell,Braintree,CM77 8EP
Received 14 Oct 1985Tile Kiln Farm, Sible Hedingham, Halstead, Essex, CO9 1UP
Received 23 Feb 2024Land At Archers Fields, Pitsea, Basildon, Essex, SS13 1DH
Received 27 May 2026Records 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
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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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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