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Renewable planning SolarCheltenham

Solar planning in Cheltenham

Cheltenham has decided 5 solar farms and approved 100% of them, taking a median of 1.3 months to decide. Consented capacity: 1 MW.

100%
Approved
5 granted · 0 refused
1.3 mo
Median decision
UK 2.3 mo
1 MW
Consented
across approved schemes
0
Appeals
no appeals recorded

⚠️ Small caseload (5 decided). Percentages here move a lot with one more decision — read them as indicative, not as a reliable rate.

How Cheltenham compares

Against the 298 UK authorities with 5+ solar decisions, Cheltenham sits in the 77th percentile for approval rate (7 points above the England average) and the 98th percentile for speed.

Decisions by year

35Approved — 1 (2023)123Approved — 3 (2024)324Approved — 1 (2025)125
Approved Refused

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 Withdrawn and still-undecided applications are excluded, so a short bar can mean a quiet year rather than a strict council.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 (5)

SchemeMWStatusDecided
All Saints Academy, Blaisdon Way - Solar Panel
All Saints Academy · 25/01602/PRIOR · 1.7 mo to decide
0.18Awaiting Construction2025-11-25
Big Yellow Self Storage, Princess Elizabeth Way - Solar Panels
Big Yellow Self Storage Limited · 24/01148/PRIOR · 1.5 mo to decide
0.18Awaiting Construction2024-08-22
Ladies College Swimming Pool, Malvern Road - Solar Panels
Ladies College Swimming Pool · 24/00844/PRIOR · 1.2 mo to decide
0.16Awaiting Construction2024-06-21
St Pauls Medical Centre, Swindon Road - Solar Panels
St Pauls Medical Centre · 24/00065/PRIOR · 1 mo to decide
0.16Awaiting Construction2024-02-23
Sandfields Care Home, St Georges Road - Solar PV Panels
Sandfields Care Home · 23/01479/PRIOR · 1.3 mo to decide
0.15Awaiting Construction2023-10-05

Does Cheltenham approve solar farms?

Yes — of the 5 solar farms Cheltenham has decided, 100% were approved (5 granted, 0 refused). The UK-wide rate for solar is 93%. Note this is a small caseload, so treat the percentage as indicative rather than statistically robust.

How long does a solar farm application take in Cheltenham?

The median time from application to decision is 1.3 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 Cheltenham consented?

1 MW has been consented across 5 approved schemes. There are no applications currently awaiting a decision.

Other technologies in Cheltenham

Battery storage in CheltenhamOnshore wind in Cheltenham

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.

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