Renewable planning › Solar › Chelmsford
Solar planning in Chelmsford
Chelmsford has decided 9 solar farms and approved 89% of them, taking a median of 9.5 months to decide. Consented capacity: 145 MW.
How Chelmsford compares
Against the 298 UK authorities with 5+ solar decisions, Chelmsford sits in the 24th percentile for approval rate (4 points below the England average) and the 1st percentile for speed.
Decisions by year
Solar decisions by the year the decision was issued (Renewable Energy Planning Database). Withdrawn and still-undecided applications are excluded, so a short bar can mean a quiet year rather than a strict council.
Every recorded scheme (10)
| Scheme | MW | Status | Decided |
|---|---|---|---|
Sainsburys, White Hart Lane - Solar Panels Sainsburys Supermarkets Limited · 25/00761/SUPA · 1.7 mo to decide | 0.57 | Awaiting Construction | 2025-07-10 |
Southlands Solar Farm & Battery Storage Enso Green Holdings Limited / Cero Generation · 23/00532/FUL · 19.7 mo to decide | 24.6 | Awaiting Construction | 2024-11-26 |
Bridgemarsh Care Home, Main Road - Solar Panels Essex County Council · CC/CHL/89/22 · 7.4 mo to decide | — | Awaiting Construction | 2023-04-28 |
Canon Barns Road - Solar Photovoltaic Arrays & Battery Storage Low Carbon Solar Park 5 Limited · 21/00394/FUL · 23.5 mo to decide | 49.9 | Awaiting Construction | 2023-02-06 |
Danbury Outdoors, Well Lane - Solar Array Essex County Council · CC/CHL/87/22 | — | Application Withdrawn | 2022-11-10 |
Hill Farm Solar Park & Battery Storage (Hanningfield Green) Gulermak Renewables Ltd · 21/00555/FUL · 15.4 mo to decide | 36.7 | Awaiting Construction | 2022-07-07 |
Canon Barns Road Solar Park Bluestone Energy · 21/00502/FUL · 10.8 mo to decide | 8 | Awaiting Construction | 2022-01-31 |
St Cleres Hall Pit Solar Array St Cleres Solar Farm Limited · 21/00081/FUL · 9.5 mo to decide | 25 | Awaiting Construction | 2021-10-27 |
Robjohns Road - Solar Photovoltaic Panels Big Yellow Group Plc · 21/01824/SUPA · 1.3 mo to decide | 0.18 | Awaiting Construction | 2021-10-15 |
Jackletts Farm Lightsource Renewable Energy · 13/00926/FUL · 3 mo to decide | 10 | Application Refused | 2013-10-08 |
Does Chelmsford approve solar farms?
Yes — of the 9 solar farms Chelmsford has decided, 89% were approved (8 granted, 1 refused). The UK-wide rate for solar is 93%.
How long does a solar farm application take in Chelmsford?
The median time from application to decision is 9.5 months, against a UK median of 2.3 months for solar. That is measured between the submission and decision dates recorded in REPD, so it reflects the whole determination period including any extensions.
How much solar capacity has Chelmsford consented?
145 MW has been consented across 8 approved schemes, with 10 MW refused. There are no applications currently awaiting a decision.
Other technologies in Chelmsford
Source: Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD), Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Open Government Licence v3.0 — 2026 Q1 extract. Approval rate is over decided applications only (approved ÷ approved+refused); withdrawn and undecided schemes are excluded. A permission later expired still counts as approved because consent was granted. REPD covers schemes of roughly 150 kW and above, is published quarterly, and does not record refusal reasons — so nothing here explains why a scheme was refused. Screening context for site selection, not planning advice.
Novarly Parcel · official public data, read properly · parcel.novarly.com
Screen a specific site here · All authorities · UK property report