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6,830 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Green Lane Farm,Colchester Road,Weeley,Clacton-on-Sea,CO16 9AD
Received 6 Apr 1993Island Golf, Castle Point Golf Club, Somnes Avenue, Canvey Island, SS8 9FG
Received 31 May 2012The White Bridge Infant School,Greensted Road,Loughton,IG10 3DR
Received 17 Mar 2010Colbayns High School,Pathfields Road,Clacton on Sea,CO15 3JL
Received 13 May 2005Dunton Fields Early Years Centre, Land off Warwick Crescent, Laindon, Basildon, SS15 6LW
Received 13 Mar 2020Land North Of Generals Lane Roundabout, Generals Lane, Boreham. Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 3HJ.
Received 25 Jul 2025Fairview School,Fairview Road,Basildon,SS141PW
Received 19 Oct 1998The Willows Primary School, Church Road, Basildon, Essex, SS14 2EX
Received 6 Jul 2023Brentwood County High School,Shenfield Common,Brentwood,CM14 4JF
Received 13 Jun 2001Bulls Lodge Quarry (Boreham Airfield), Generals Lane, Boreham, Chelmsford, CM3 3HR
Received 7 Aug 2024Land off Remembrance Avenue, Beaulieu, Chelmsford, Essex
Received 14 May 2024Barling Marsh Quarry & Landfill, Mucking Hall Road, Barling Magna, SS3 0NR
Received 17 Aug 2020Lodge Farm,Old London Road,Woodham Walter,Maldon,CM9 6SE
Received 17 Jan 1990Land 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 4 Apr 2024Hilltop County Infants & Junior School,Hill Avenue,Wickford,SS11 8LT
Received 18 Jul 2008Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon, Essex, CM9 8BQ
Received 24 Nov 2021Martell's Quarry,Ardleigh,Colchester,CO7 7SP
Received 5 Jun 1989Inworth Grange Farm Pit, Grange Road, Tiptree, CO5 0QQ
Received 18 Mar 2024Office Building, Creeksea Ferry Road Wallasea Island, Essex SS4 2HD
Received 13 May 2022Wickford Oakfield Primary School, Scott Drive, Wickford,SS12 9PW
Received 19 Feb 2001Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 6 Jun 2001Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project, Creeksea Ferry Road, WALLASEA ISLAND, SS4 2HD
Received 16 Jan 2019Lyons Hall School,Deerleap Way,Braintree,CM7 9DH
Received 17 Oct 2000Coggeshall Quarry,Scripps Farm,Coggeshall,Colchester
Received 8 Mar 2000Records 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