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6,830 approved · 214 refused · 438 withdrawn.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 Counts reflect the last collected status; some records may be out of date.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.
Widdington Pit, Hollow Road, Widdington, Essex, CB11 3SL
Received 24 Jun 2026Lodge Farm,Lodge Farm Lane,St Osyth,Clacton-0n-Sea,CO16 8SA
Received 14 Mar 2011Burrsville Infant School,Craigfield Avenue,Clacton on Sea,CO15 4HR
Received 17 Nov 1998Recycling Centre for Household Waste, Pitsea Hall Lane, off Wat Tyler Way, Pitsea, Basildon, Essex, SS16 4UH
Received 26 Apr 2012Church Langley Primary School,Church Langley Way,Church Langley,Harlow,CM17 9TH
Received 22 Jan 2001St John Ambulance Building1 Victoria Road, Walton-on the Naze, Essex CO14 8BU,Walton-on-the-Naze,CO14 8BY
Received 11 Apr 2005Wivenhoe Quarry (Keelars Farm South), Alresford Road, Wivenhoe, Essex, CO7 9JU
Received 25 Jun 2024See ESS/11/00/col,Bellhouse & Abbotstone Landfill Site,Warren Lane,Stanway,Colchester,CO3 0NN
Received 10 Oct 2001Existing Woodlands & Playing Field at St John Paynes,St John Payne RC Comprehensive School,Patching Hall Lane,Chelmsford,CM1 4BS
Received 8 Aug 2008Highwood Quarry, Stortford Road, Little Canfield, Dunmow, Essex, CM6 1SL
Received 23 Jul 2018Chelmer Valley Park and Ride, Pratt's Farm Lane, Little Waltham, Chelmsford
Received 5 Apr 2023Pitsea Landfill Site, Pitsea Hall Lane, Pitsea, Basildon, SS16 4UH
Received 18 Dec 2017Land at Bellhouse Farm South
Received 30 Jan 2025Ravens Academy, Nayland Drive, Clacton on Sea, Essex, CO16 8TZ
Received 21 Feb 2017Great Easton C of E (Aided) Primary School,Snow Hill,Great Easton,Dunmow,CM6 2DR
Received 25 May 2011Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project, Creeksea Ferry Road, WALLASEA ISLAND, SS4 2HD
Received 7 Feb 2017Waltham Holy Cross Infant School, Quendon Drive, Waltham Abbey, Waltham Abbey, Essex, EN9 1LG
Received 14 Aug 2013St John Ambulance Building1 Victoria Road, Walton-on the Naze, Essex CO14 8BU,Walton-on-the-Naze,CO14 8BY
Received 6 Sept 2005St John Payne RC Comprehensive School,Patching Hall Lane,Chelmsford,CM1 4BS
Received 16 Jun 2003Greensted St Andrews Nursery & Infants School,Hickory Avenue,Greenstead,Colchester,CO4 3QJ
Received 21 Aug 2002Writtle Infant & Junior School,Writtle Junior School,Margaretting Road,Writtle,Chelmsford,CM1 3HG
Received 17 Jun 2003Access to Essex Show Ground,Main Road,Great Leighs,Chelmsford
Received 21 Jul 2000Waste Transfer Station, Winsford Way, Boreham, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 5PD
Received 18 Dec 2024Bradwell Quarry, Church Road, Bradwell, CM77 8EP
Received 14 Mar 2017Records 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