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6,830 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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: 19 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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Land allocated for a new primary school under Land South of Limebrook Way and East of Maldon Wick, Maldon, Essex
Received 17 Oct 2023Land at The Chase, Newhall, Harlow, CM17 6JA
Received 3 May 2017Land at Colemans Farm, Colemans Farm, Little Braxted Lane, Rivenhall, Witham, CM8 3EX
Received 29 Jul 2016Great Holts Farm,Gt Holts & Wallaces Farm,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3AU
Received 24 Jan 2000Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Canfield, Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 11 Nov 2019Blackleys Quarry, (Essex Show Ground),Great Leighs,Chelmsford,CM3 1QB
Received 2 Jul 2012Heathlands Primary School, New Church Road, West Bergholt, Colchester, CO6 3JF
Received 1 Nov 2011Land at Rivenhall Airfield, Coggeshall Road (A120), Braintree CO5 9DF
Received 4 Aug 2015Elm Hall Cp School, Conrad Road, Witham, CM8 2SD
Received 14 Jun 2013Crown Quarry (Ardleigh Reservoir Extension)
Received 4 Jun 2010R A Butler Schools, South Road, CB11 3DG,Stanley Wilson Lodge,Four Acres,Saffron Walden,CB11 3JD
Received 23 Apr 2007St Michaels Primary School & Nursery,Camulodunum Way,Colchester,CO2 9RA
Received 28 Jul 2006Wivenhoe Quarry, Alresford Road, Wivenhoe, CO7 9JU
Received 29 Sept 2015Adjacent to Freeport Railway Station,Charter Way,Freeport,Braintree
Received 5 Oct 2010Wethersfield Church Of England Primary School, Silver Street, Wethersfield, Essex, CM7 4BP
Received 15 Jul 2024Land to the north of Church End Lane, Runwell
Received 23 Jun 2026Marsh Farm (also 23 Kt 514),South Woodham Ferrers,Chelmsford,CM3 5WP
Received 29 Oct 2007Millhouse Infant School and Nursery School, Tavistock Road, Laindon, Basildon, Essex, SS15 5QF
Received 22 May 2014Land between Beaulieu Park (north of Generals Lane), Boreham Parish, and Deres Bridge roundabout on A131, Great Leighs Parish, to NE Chelmsford.
Received 4 Feb 2025The Plume School, Mill Road Site,The Plume School,Fambridge Road,Maldon,CM9 6AB
Received 10 Jan 2003Belsteads Farm,Essex Regiment Way,Broomfield,Chelmsford,CM3 3PR
Received 9 Aug 1999Bradwell Quarry Church Road Bradwell Essex CM77 8EP
Received 24 Jul 2024A13/A130 Sadlers Farm Junction,London Road,Basildon
Received 14 May 2012Barling Magna Primary School,Little Wakering Road,Barling Magna,Rochford,SS3 OLN
Received 26 May 1998Records 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