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6,830 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Cooks Spinney Primary School, Cooks Spinney, Harlow, CM20 3BW
Received 2 Nov 2018Matching Green Primary School,Little Laver Road,Matching Green,Harlow,CM17 0QB
Received 5 Nov 2009Shrubland Court Day Centre, 43 Shrub End Road, Colchester. Essex, CO3 3UE
Received 22 Jan 20254 Kelvin Road,Manor Trading Estate,Benfleet,SS7 4QB
Received 23 Apr 2009Writtle Library, 45 , The Green, Writtle, CHELMSFORD, CM1 3DT
Received 11 Jan 2017Bardfield County Junior & Infant School,Clay Hill Road,Vange,Basildon
Received 20 May 1996Land North of Cuthedge Lane, Grange Farm, Coggeshall, CO6 1RE
Received 2 Jan 2019Land between Sheering Road and the M11 Motorway
Received 29 Sept 2020The Willows County Primary School, Church Road, Basildon, Essex, SS14 2EX
Received 10 May 2016Cordons Farm, Long Green, Cressing, Braintree, CM778DL
Received 1 Sept 2014Bishops Stortford STW,Bishops Stortford Sewage Treatment Works,Jenkins Lane,Bishop's Stortford
Received 12 Jun 2006Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall End, Witham, Essex, CM8 3EX
Received 26 Jul 2024Great Baddow School,Duffield Road,Great Baddow,Chelmsford,CM2 9RZ
Received 9 Apr 2008Burnt Mill Comprehensive School,First Avenue,Harlow,CM20 2NR
Received 20 Feb 2004Allens Farm, Tye Road, Elmstead Market, Colchester, Essex, CO7 7BN
Received 29 Jul 2015Martells Quarry, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, CO7 7RU
Received 9 Feb 2024Chipping Hill Primary School, Owers Road, Witham, CM8 1FR
Received 21 May 2014Maylandsea County Primary School,Katonia Avenue,Mayland,Maldon,CM3 6AD
Received 10 Jul 2010Magnox Electric Plc, Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell-on-sea, Southminster, CM0 7HP
Received 18 May 2012Woodlands School,Takeley End,Kingswood,Basildon,SS165BA
Received 21 Jul 2011The Grove Church Rd Tiptree,Hawich Tourist Information Centre,Haven House,Albermarle Street,Bathside,Harwich
Received 26 Aug 1997Rochford S.T.W,Rochford WwTW,Moats Springs,Stambridge Road,Stambridge,Rochford,SS1 4BS
Received 30 Apr 1997Bradwell Nuclear Power Station,Bradwell on Sea,Maldon,CM0 7HP
Received 27 Jan 2011Land at Ashtree Farm, Roxwell Road, Boyton Cross, CHELMSFORD, Essex, CM1 1LP
Received 18 Jan 2012Records 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