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6,830 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
High Ongar Primary School, The Street, High Ongar, Essex CM5 9NB
Received 9 May 2012Epping Upland Cofe Primary School, Carters Lane, Epping Green, Epping, CM166QJ
Received 14 Nov 2012Hullbridge Recreation Ground,Pooles Lane,Hullbridge,Hockley,SS5 6PY
Received 22 Jun 2000Nazeing Quarry,Green Lane,Nazeing,Waltham Abbey,EN10 6TD
Received 28 Jan 1972Hazelmere C.I & J.S,Hawthorn Avenue,Greenstead Estate,Colchester,CO4 3JP
Received 17 Aug 2004PLAYING FIELD SITE,Gainsford Avenue,Clacton on Sea,CO15 5BH
Received 24 Jul 2001Cherry Tree Primary School,Church Road,Basildon,SS164AG
Received 22 Mar 2000Notley High,Notley High School,Notley Road,Braintree,CM7 1HL
Received 17 Apr 2003Thorndon Country Park (South),The Avenue,Brentwood,CM13 3RZ
Received 7 Oct 2005Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Great Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 17 Feb 2020Travellers Site,Elizabeth Way,Harlow,CM19 5FF
Received 24 Jun 1999Land between River Way and A1184 (Cambridge Road), Harlow
Received 22 Nov 2023John Bunyan Junior School, Lancaster Way, Braintree, CM7 5UL
Received 11 Jul 2016John Ray Cp Infants School, Notley Road, Braintree, CM7 1HL
Received 26 Feb 2015Milwards Primary School and Nursery,Paringdon Road,Harlow,CM19 4QX
Received 29 Jul 2005Roxwell Landfill,Chignal St James,Chelmsford,CM1 4TZ
Received 9 Sept 2004Ashlyns Farm, Epping Road, North Weald, Epping, CM16 6RZ
Received 1 Nov 2024Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP, and land south of Cut Hedge Lane
Received 19 May 2016Castledon School,Bromfords Drive,Wickford,SS12 0PW
Received 10 Nov 2008Barling Marsh Quarry and Landfill Site,Mucking Hall Road,Barling Magna,Rochford,SS3 0NR
Received Not publishedHome Farm County Primary School Shelley Road COLCHESTER CO3 4JL
Received 19 Jul 2017Little Easton Airfield,Little Easton,Dunmow,CM6 2BB
Received 5 Mar 2013Harlow Environmental & Outdoor Education Centre,Burnt Mill Lane,Harlow,CM20 2QS
Received 8 Feb 1999Fairfields Farm, Fordham Road, Wormingford, Essex, CO6 3AQ
Received 28 Mar 2022Records 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.

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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