Renewable planning › Solar › Lewes
Solar planning in Lewes
Lewes has decided 5 solar farms and approved 80% of them, taking a median of 2.1 months to decide. Consented capacity: 23 MW. 1 application still awaiting a decision.
⚠️ Small caseload (5 decided). Percentages here move a lot with one more decision — read them as indicative, not as a reliable rate.
How Lewes compares
Against the 298 UK authorities with 5+ solar decisions, Lewes sits in the 7th percentile for approval rate (13 points below the England average) and the 56th 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 Withdrawn and still-undecided applications are excluded, so a short bar can mean a quiet year rather than a strict council.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 (6)
| Scheme | MW | Status | Decided |
|---|---|---|---|
School Field, Barcombe - Solar Farm Ouse Valley Energy Services Limited · LW/25/0647 | — | Application Submitted | 2026-02-13 |
Garden Pride Garden Centre, Common Lane - Solar Panels Notcutts Garden Centres (Head Office) · SDNP/25/03782/FUL · 1.8 mo to decide | 0.28 | Awaiting Construction | 2025-11-21 |
Chailey Heritage School, Haywards Heath Road - Solar Panels Chailey Heritage School · LW/24/0451 · 0.3 mo to decide | 0.32 | Awaiting Construction | 2024-07-18 |
Ringmer - Solar array/Battery storage Ouse Valley Energy Services Company CIC · LW/22/0254 · 9.3 mo to decide | 17 | Awaiting Construction | 2023-01-19 |
Tomkins Farm Hadstone Energy · LW/15/0292 · 3.3 mo to decide | 5 | Appeal Refused | 2015-07-30 |
Land at Upper Clayhill Farm Lightsource Renewable Energy · LW/14/0771 · 2.1 mo to decide | 4.9 | Operational | 2014-12-18 |
Does Lewes approve solar farms?
Yes — of the 5 solar farms Lewes has decided, 80% were approved (4 granted, 1 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 Lewes?
The median time from application to decision is 2.1 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 Lewes consented?
23 MW has been consented across 4 approved schemes, with 5 MW refused. A further 1 application awaits a decision.
Other technologies in Lewes
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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