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6,830 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Tiptree Library, Rectory Road, Tiptree, Essex, CO5 0SX
Received 15 May 2025Winter Gardens Junior & Infant Schools,Hilton Road,Canvey,SS8 9QA
Received 11 Jul 2001Land to the South of Park Farm, Springfield, Chelmsford, Essex
Received 22 Jun 2015Land North of Apprentice Drive, New Braiswick Park, Colchester, Essex
Received 16 Jun 2015Fulmar Way, Wickford Business Park, Wickford, SS11 8YW
Received 3 Feb 2014Former Severalls Hospital Site, Northern Approach Road (Phase 3), Colchester, Essex, CO4 5HG
Received 3 Jun 2015Wallasea Island, Creeksea Ferry Road, SS4 2HD
Received 16 Mar 2015Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project, Creeksea Ferry Road, Wallasea Island, Essex, SS4 2HD
Received 18 Mar 2022Cherry Orchard,Pelhams Farm,Cherry Orchard Lane,Rochford
Received 6 May 1998Land to the west of Winsford Way, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 5AA
Received 10 May 2013Sandon Quarry, Molrams Lane, Sandon, Essex
Received 23 May 2017Noak Bridge Primary School,Coppice Lane,Basildon,SS154JS
Received 6 Jun 2003Copford Primary School, School Road Copford, Essex, CO6 1BX
Received 1 Feb 2023Barling Marsh Quarry and Landfill Site, Muckinghall Road, Barling Magna, Rochford, SS3 0NR
Received 18 Jul 2012Colchester North County Primary School,John Harper Street,Colchester
Received 23 Jan 2003Hylands School,Hatfield Grove,Chelmsford,CM1 3DF
Received 16 Sept 2010The Causeway, Maldon, Essex, CM9 4LJ
Received 27 Mar 2014Bulls Lodge Quarry,Bulls Lodge Quarry,Generals Lane,Boreham,Chelmsford,CM3 3HR
Received 15 Apr 1992Land at Sandon Quarry, Southend Road, Sandon, Essex, CM2 7TE
Received 7 Aug 2017Frobisher Primary & Nursery School,Frobisher Drive,Jaywick,Clacton on Sea,CO15 2QH
Received 19 Jan 1998St Margarets CE Primary School,Church Lane,Toppesfield,Halstead,CO9 4DS
Received 20 Jun 2011Land adjacent to Glenwood Special School, Rushbottom Lane, Thundersley, Benfleet, SS7 4LW
Received 15 Mar 2016Buckhurst Hill Community Primary School,Lower Queens Road,Buckhurst Hill,IG9 6DS
Received 6 Aug 2008Land to the south of Colchester Main Road, Nr Wivenhoe, Alresford, Essex, CO7 8DB
Received 2 Feb 2026Records 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