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6,830 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Shenfield Library, Hutton Road, Shenfield, CM15 8NJ
Received 2 May 2025The Ramsey School, Colne Road, Halstead,The Ramsey School - Upper,Hawthorn Close,Halstead,CO9 2HR
Received 12 Feb 1996Land at Wallasea Island, Essex
Received 14 Jun 2012Great Bardfield Primary School, Braintree Road, Great Bardfield, Essex CM7 4RN
Received 29 Jun 2022Land at Bellhouse Farm South
Received 3 Dec 2025Great Baddow School,Duffield Road,Great Baddow,Chelmsford,CM2 9RZ
Received 4 Jun 2007Blackwater Aggregates, Bradwell Quarry, Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, BRADWELL, CM77 8EP
Received 21 Dec 2016Vange Primary School, London Road, Vange, Basildon
Received Not publishedLand to the east of Buttleys Lane, Stortford Road, Great Dunmow, CM6 1SH
Received 20 Jul 2020Css South Quadrant, Fairview Road, Basildon, Essex, SS14 1PW
Received 7 Oct 2022Royal Oak Quarry, Woodham Mortimer, Essex
Received 2 Dec 2013Rayne Quarry, Broadfield Farm, Dunmow Road, Rayne, Braintree, Essex, CM77 6SA
Received 11 Nov 2024Wivenhoe Quarry, Alresford Road, Wivenhoe, CO7 9JU
Received 24 Nov 2020Woodcroft Nursery, Dorset Avenue, Chelmsford, CM2 9UV,Larkrise County Primary School,Dorset Avenue,Chelmsford,CM2 9UV
Received 18 Apr 2006Blackley Quarry, and land to the north east and north west of the existing quarry, A131, Great Leighs, CM3 1QP
Received 23 May 2017Land between the A120 and A133, to the east of Colchester and west of Elmstead Market
Received 15 Nov 2024Beazley End Pit,Beazley End Pit,Beazley End,Wethersfield,Braintree
Received 29 Jan 1997Barnes Farm County Infant School, Henniker Gate, Chelmsford, CM2 6QH
Received 12 Jan 2015Stewards Comprehensive School,Parnall Road,Harlow,CM18 7NQ
Received 18 Jun 2007Elmstead Hall, Elmstead, Colchester, Essex. CO7 7EX
Received 30 Mar 2021Land between the A120 and A133, to the east of Colchester and west of Elmstead Market
Received 16 Sept 2024Lawford C Of E Primary School Long Road Lawford CO11 2EF
Received 23 Nov 2020Widdington Pit,Hollow Road,Widdington,Saffon Walden,CM11 3SL
Received 13 Jul 2012Asheldham Quarry, Southminster Road, Asheldham, Essex, CM0 7DZ
Received 9 Apr 2014Records 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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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