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6,830 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
A127/A130 Fairglen Interchange
Received 17 Dec 2020Helena Romanes School, Parsonage Downs, Great Dunmow, Essex, CM6 2AU
Received 14 Mar 2023Ardleigh St. Mary's CofE Primary School,Colchester Road CO7 7NS
Received 23 Jun 2023Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, CM9 8BQ
Received 15 Jan 2019Halstead Highways Depot,Fenn Road,Halstead,CO9 2HG
Received 9 Dec 2010Park Farm, Belsteads Farm Lane, Little Waltham, Chelmsford, CM3 3PX
Received 20 Jul 2023Land to the west of Winsford Way, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 5AA
Received 23 Sept 2013Fingringhoe Quarry, Ballast Quay, Fingringhoe, Colchester.
Received 21 Jan 2025St Peters Cof E Primary School,Carters Hill,Boxted, Colchester,CO4 5YN
Received 2 Sept 2003Clarance House,22 Watling Street,Thaxted,Dunmow,CM6 2PJ
Received 4 Nov 2011Woodlands Comprehensive School, Takely End, Basildon, SS165BA
Received 11 Jun 2013Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 15 May 2013Bridge Farm Bridge, Colchester Rd, Maldon, CM9 8HR
Received 19 May 2023Fen Farm,Fen Chase,Elmstead Market,Colchester,CO7 7HA
Received 25 Jun 2001Ugley Landfill Site,Ugley Landfill Site,Cambridge Road,Stansted Mountfitchet,CM22 6HT
Received 9 Dec 2002Land at Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Braintree, Essex, Rayne
Received 18 Jun 2021Auto Spares, Station Yard, Great Bentley Road, Thorrington, CO7 8HY
Received 22 Jun 2021Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon. CM9 8BQ
Received 13 Sept 2012Kings Ford County Infant & Junior School,Gloucester Ave,Colchester,CO2 9AZ
Received 4 Dec 1997Former Holly Trees County Infant School,Junction Road,Brentwood,CM14 5JR
Received 23 Apr 1999Fawbert and Barnards (Undl) Primary School, London Road, HARLOW, CM17 0DA
Received 8 Jan 2018Land north of Bluebridge Industrial Estate, Halstead, Essex
Received 9 Sept 2014Ugley Landfill Site, Cambridge Road, UGLEY, CM22 6HT
Received 5 Jan 2017Birchanger Primary School, Birchwood, Birchanger, Bishop's Stortford, CM235QL
Received 24 May 2013Records 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