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6,830 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Park Farm, Belsteads Farm Lane, Chelmsford Garden Community, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 3PX
Received 24 Apr 2025Heatherland Ltd, Hallsford Bridge Ind. Est,Unit 5-7,Hallsford Bridge Ind Est,Stondon Rd,Ongar,CM5 9RB
Received 3 Sept 1996St Michaels County Primary School, Camulodunum Way, Colchester, CO2 9RA
Received 21 Nov 2017Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project, Creeksea Ferry Road, Wallasea Island, Essex, SS4 2HD
Received 21 Mar 2023Greenacres, Warehouse, Packards Lane Wormingford, Essex, CO6 3AH
Received 9 May 2024Roydon C P School,Harlow Road,Harlow,CM19 5HN
Received 10 Oct 2000Arnolds Farm Business Centre, 221 Ongar Road, Lambourne, Romford, Essex, RM4 1RH
Received 19 Jul 2024Janet Duke Primary School,Markhams Chase,Laindon,Basildon,SS155LS
Received 18 Dec 2008Monkwick Infant School, School Road, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8NN
Received 5 May 2015Land at Sandon Quarry, Southend Road, Sandon, Howe Green, CM2 7TE
Received 3 Feb 2020Villa Farm (Cockaynes Wood),Alresford,Colchester,CO7 9JZ
Received 23 Dec 2009Dr Walkers CE Primary School,Walker Avenue,Fyfield,Ongar,CM5 0RG
Received 13 Jun 2011Curry Farm,Curry Farm,Mill End,Bradwell-on-Sea,Maldon,CM0 7HL
Received 14 Feb 2000Land to the east of Guilfords, Harlow Essex CM17 0HX
Received 2 Nov 2022Goldsands Quarry,Southminster Hall,Goldsands Road,Southminster,CM0 7JR
Received 13 Jul 1998Agregate Industries, Martells Industrial Estate, Slough Lane, Ardleigh, Colchester, CO7 7RU
Received 25 Apr 2012Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon, CM9 8BQ
Received 2 Jul 2014Essex Regiment Way,Broomfield,Chelmsford,CM3 3PR
Received 14 Jan 2011Whitmore County Infant School,Whitmore Way,Basildon,SS14 2TP
Received 18 Jan 2000Chappel C of E Primary School,The Street,Chappel,Colchester,CO6 2DD
Received 25 May 2007Waste Transfer Station,Greensmill,Lawford,Manningtree,CO11 1UW
Received 10 Jan 2003Site east of the farm yard, Anaerobic Digestion plant, Marsh Farm, Vange by-Pass, VANGE, SS16 4QG
Received 8 Aug 2016Sunnymede School,Mons Avenue,Billericay,CM11 2HQ
Received 20 Aug 2002Roydon CP School, Epping Road, Roydon, Harlow, CM19 5HN
Received 30 Jun 2015Records 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