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6,830 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Rayne Quarry, Dunmow Road, Braintree, Essex, Rayne
Received 11 Apr 2022Janet Duke Primary School,Markhams Chase,Laindon,Basildon,SS155LS
Received 28 Jul 2011Martins & Wellwick Fms,St Osyth,Clacton-on-Sea,CO16 8HN
Received 21 Dec 2004Kirby Primary School,Halstead Road,Kirby Cross,Frinton on Sea,CO13 0LW
Received 10 Jan 2011Evegate & 3 Thistley Green Road, Braintree, CM7 9SE
Received 22 May 2018Roxwell Quarry,Roxwell Landfill,Chignal St James,Chelmsford,CM1 4TZ
Received 25 Jan 1996Elmstead Hall, Tye Road, Elmstead, Colchester, Essex
Received 26 Jan 2026Highwoods Quarry, Stortford Road, Dunmow CM6 1SL
Received 5 Apr 2024Harwich Centre and County Primary School,Main Road,Dovercourt,Harwich,CO12 4AJ
Received 26 Apr 2005Feering CE Primary School,Coggeshall Road,Colchester,CO5 9QB
Received 5 Mar 2002Ugley Landfill Site, Cambridge Road, CM22 6HT
Received 15 Aug 2025Green Acres,Old Packards Lane,Wormingford,Colchester,CO6 3AH
Received 25 Feb 2013Highwood Primary School, Loves Green, Highwood, Chelmsford, CM1 3QH
Received 29 Nov 2011Little Waltham C Of E Primary School, The Street, Little Waltham, Chelmsford, CM3 3NY
Received 5 Dec 2016Thundersley Infant School,Dark Lane,Thundersley,Benfleet,SS7 3PT
Received 9 Nov 2009Land at Bradwell Power Station, Bradwell on Sea, Southminster, Essex, CM0 7HQ
Received 2 Oct 2025Willowbrook Family Centre, Church Road, Basildon, SS14 2EX
Received 19 Feb 2020Broxbourne Airfield,Nursery Road,Broxbourne,EN9 2JE
Received 28 Mar 1957Anglo European High School,Willow Green,Ingatestone,CM4 0DJ
Received 14 Feb 2001Glenwood School,Rushbottom Lane,New Thundersley,Benfleet,SS7 4LW
Received 8 Aug 2002Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, Essex, CM77 8EP
Received 21 Jul 2026Wells Park School & Training Centre,School Lane,Chigwell,IG7 6NN
Received 1 Jun 2007Roding Valley High School, Alderton Hill, Loughton, IG10 3JA
Received 24 Nov 2017Land south of A1060 (Salt’s Green), Chalk End, Roxwell, Chelmsford, CM1 4NJ
Received 21 May 2024Records 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.

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