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6,830 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon, CM9 8BQ
Received 18 Apr 2018Great Berry Primary School,Forest Glade,Langdon Hills,Basildon,SS166SG
Received 1 Dec 1999Canvey Island Infants School, Long Road, Canvey Island, SS8 0JG
Received 12 Mar 2021St Marys Church of England Primary School, St Johns Road, STANSTED, CM24 8JP
Received 21 Apr 2017Brightside Primary School, Rosebay Avenue, Brightside, Billericay CM12 0LE
Received Not publishedHighwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Easton, Near Great Dunmow, Essex
Received 20 Jul 2020Stanway Fiveways Primary School, Winstree Road, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 0QG
Received 25 Apr 2017Woodlands School,Takeley End,Kingswood,Basildon,SS165BA
Received 2 Apr 2012Land adjacent to Chelmsford City Racecourse, Great Leighs, CM3 1QP
Received 4 Oct 2021Felmore Primary School, Davenants, Basildon, SS131QX
Received 2 May 2013Land at Chigborough Quarry,Chigborough & Draper's Fms; Saltcote & Rook Halls,Maldon,CM9 4QX
Received 7 Oct 1997The Heath School,Winstree Road,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 5QE
Received 6 Dec 2007Land at Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road (A120), Braintree CO5 9DF
Received 6 Apr 2023Roxwell Quarry,Roxwell Landfill,Chignal St James,Chelmsford,CM1 4TZ
Received 6 Nov 2000Bradwell Quarry, Cemex Mortars, Church Road, Bradwell, Essex, CM77 8EP
Received 13 May 2024Lyons Hall School,Deerleap Way,Braintree,CM7 9DH
Received 16 Mar 2001Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project, Creeksea Ferry Road Wallasea Island, SS4 2HD
Received 10 Jun 2020Asheldham Quarry, Southminster Road, Asheldham, Essex, CM0 7DZ
Received 31 Mar 2015Land at: Magnox Electric Plc, Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell-on-sea, Southminster, CM0 7HP
Received 11 Jun 2019Stanway Fiveways Primary School, Winstree Road, Stanway, CO3 0QG
Received 11 Sept 2017Boreham Metals Recycling Depot, Waltham Road, Industrial Estate, Boreham
Received 26 Jul 2011Land adjacent to The Rectory, High Rd. IG9 5RX,St Johns CE Primary School,High Road,Buckhurst Hill,IG9 5RX
Received 13 Jun 2011Land at Dollymans Farm, Doublegate Lane, Rawreth, Wickford, SS11 8UD
Received 3 Nov 2022Stebbing Primary School, High Street, Stebbing, Dunmow, CM6 3SH
Received 27 Aug 2019Records 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