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6,830 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Northwick Park Primary School, Third Avenue, Canvey Island, SS8 9SU
Received 8 May 2019Bradwell Quarry,Coggeshall Road,Bradwell,Braintree,CM77 8EP
Received 9 Dec 2005Elmstead Hall, Elmstead, Colchester, Essex
Received 2 Feb 2024Unit 26 Childerditch Ind Est
Received 8 May 2009Gt Sampford Primary School,Finchingfield Road,Saffron Walden,CB10 2RL
Received 18 Aug 2008Gilden Way and Sheering Road public highways and land between Sheering Road and M11 Motorway
Received 2 Mar 2018Arnolds Farm Business Centre, 221 Ongar Road, Lambourne, Romford, Essex, RM4 1RH
Received 19 Jul 2024Lawford C Of E Primary School Long Road Lawford CO11 2EF
Received 23 Nov 2020Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project, Creeksea Ferry Road, Wallasea Island, SS4 2HD
Received 21 Nov 2019Halstead Anaerobic Digestion Facility, Land North of Bluebridge Industrial Estate, Halstead, Essex
Received 9 Jan 2015Bellhouse Pit,Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 24 Feb 1999Leverton County Gm Junior And Infant School, Honey Lane, Waltham Abbey, EN9 3BE
Received 20 Nov 2020Sandon Quarry,Southend Road,Chelmsford,CM2 7TE
Received 31 Oct 2005Canvey Island WRC, Thames Road, Canvey Island, SS8 0HR
Received 29 Apr 2016Rowhedge Pits,Rowhedge,Colchester
Received 27 Aug 1947Braintree Waste Transfer Station, Cordons Farm, Long Green, Cressing, CM77 8DL
Received 2 Feb 2026Willows Primary School,Church Road,Basildon,SS142EX
Received 11 Apr 2000Magnox Electric Plc, Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell-on-sea, Southminster, CM0 7HP
Received 10 Dec 2019Bishops Stortford Sewage Treatment Works,Bishops Stortford Sewage Treatment Works,Jenkins Lane,Bishop's Stortford
Received 15 Dec 1999Montgomery Infant & Junior School, Baronswood Way, Colchester, Essex, CO2 9QG
Received 17 Jul 2014Land at Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Braintree, Essex, Rayne
Received 13 Mar 2024St Clere's Hall Pit,Main Road,Danbury,Chelmsford,CM3 4AR
Received 17 Oct 2005Land to the South of Park Farm, Springfield, Chelmsford, Essex
Received 11 Mar 2015The Plume School Fambridge Road Maldon Essex CM9 6AB
Received 11 Mar 2024Records 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