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6,830 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Epping Upland Cofe Primary School, Carters Lane, Epping Green, Epping, CM166QJ
Received 23 Feb 2015Tile Kiln Farm, Sible Hedingham, Halstead, Essex, CO9 1UP
Received 7 Aug 2020Sandon Quarry, Southend Road, Chelmsford, Sandon, Howe Green, CM2 7TE
Received 2 Mar 2023Land at Colchester Quarry, Warren Lane, Stanway, Colchester, Essex, CO3 0NN
Received 13 Sept 2023Mill Lane, High Ongar, CM5 9RG
Received 11 Feb 2014Helena Romanes School, Parsonage Downs, Dunmow, CM6 2AU
Received 22 Dec 2011Widdington Pit, Hollow Road, Widdington, Essex, CB11 3SL
Received 12 Jul 2024The Henry Moore Primary School,Kiln Lane,Church Langley,Harlow,CM17 9LW
Received 25 Sept 2008Heatherland Ltd, Hallsford Bridge Ind Est,Unit 5-7,Hallsford Bridge Ind Est,Stondon Rd,Ongar,CM5 9RB
Received 3 Sept 1996Frobisher Primary School,Frobisher Primary & Nursery School,Frobisher Drive,Jaywick,Clacton on Sea,CO15 2QH
Received 25 Apr 2006Wallasea Island, Creeksea Ferry Road, SS4 2HD
Received 16 Mar 2015St George's Infants School,Barrington Rd,Colchester,CO2 7RW
Received 20 Jun 2002Woodrolfe Boatyard,Tollesbury Marina,The Yacht Harbour,Tollesbury,Maldon,CM9 8SE
Received 14 Jun 1996Birchanger Primary School, Birchwood, Birchanger, Bishop's Stortford, CM235QL
Received 28 Feb 2017Oakfield Primary School,Scott Drive,Wickford,SS12 9PW
Received 21 Aug 2002Hollow Road,Widdington,Saffron Walden,CB113SL
Received 8 Oct 2007Martells Quarry Slough Lane Ardleigh Essex CO7 7RU
Received 11 Jun 2020Yeldham Highway Depot,Toppesfield Road,Great Yeldham,Halstead,CO9 4HD
Received 1 Nov 2006Recreation Ground, Church End Lane, Runwell, SS11 7JG
Received 18 Nov 2015Marks Tey Brickworks, Church Lane, Marks Tey, Colchester CO6 1LN
Received 5 Jun 2025The Hermitage,Shenfield Road,Brentwood,CM15 8AG
Received 26 Apr 2002Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road (A120), Braintree, CO5 9DF
Received 21 Oct 2024Beauchamps High School,Beauchamps Drive,Wickford,SS1 8LY
Received 4 Dec 2003Boreham Proving Ground, Bulls Lodge Quarry, Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 20 Oct 1994Records 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