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6,830 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Widdington Pit, Hollow Road, Widdington, Essex, CB11 3SL
Received 5 Jul 2023Roach Vale Primary School,Roach Vale,Colchester,CO4 3YN
Received 14 Jan 2011North Crescent County Primary School,North Crescent,Wickford.,SS12 9AP
Received 22 Aug 2008Ingatestone Sewage Treatment Works,Stock Lane,Doddinghurst,Ingatestone,CM4 9QN
Received 26 May 2005Crumps Farm,Stortford Rd,Little Canfield,Great Dunmow,CM6 1SR
Received 1 Nov 2001Tuskite Works, Pitsea Hall Lane, Pitsea, Essex, SS16 4UH
Received 30 Jul 2015Adult Community Learning Centre,Spinks Lane,Witham,CM8 1EP
Received 16 Jan 2007Newport Chalk Quarry, Chalk Farm Lane, Newport, Saffron Walden, Essex
Received 29 Jun 2023Dedham C of E Primary School,Parsons Field,Dedham,Colchester,CO7 6BZ
Received 7 May 1999Bulls Lodge Quarry, Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 3HR
Received 24 Apr 2025Oakview School,Whitehills Road,Loughton,IG10 1TS
Received 5 Jul 2010Buttsbury Bridge,Stock Lane / Ingatestone Road,Ingatestone,CM4
Received 20 Nov 2008Roscommon Way Extension,Roscommon Way,Canvey
Received 23 Feb 2009Pitsea Landfill site,Pitsea Hall Lane,Pitsea,Basildon, SS16 4UH
Received 21 Feb 2002Chipping Hill Infant School,Church Street,Witham,CM8 2JL
Received 4 Feb 2010Asheldham Quarry, Southminster Road, Asheldham, Essex, CM0 7DZ
Received 31 Mar 2015Castledon School, Bromfords Drive, Wickford, SS120PW
Received 26 Feb 2013Land at Dollymans Farm, Doublegate Lane, Rawreth, Wickford, SS11 8UD
Received 23 Nov 2022Inworth Grange Farm Pit, Grange Road, TIPTREE, CO5 0QQ
Received 5 Oct 2018Land between Beaulieu Park (north of Generals Lane), Boreham Parish, and Deres Bridge Roundabout on A131, Great & Little Leighs Parish, to the north east of Chelmsford.
Received 30 Jun 2022Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Great Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 24 Mar 2025Land at Sheepcotes Farm, Sheepcotes Lane, Little Waltham, CM3 3LU
Received 15 May 2025Helena Romanes School,Parsonage Downs,Dunmow,CM6 2AY
Received 16 Nov 2006Playingfield land adjacent to the St John Payne School, Partridge Avenue, Chelmsford,St John Payne RC Comprehensive School,Patching Hall Lane,Chelmsford,CM1 4BS
Received 20 Jul 2009Records 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.

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Read planning drawings, floor plans, elevations and sections. Use labelled diagrams, a drawing comparison table and revision checks to understand a proposal.

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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