Bay Farm (8.1 MW solar farm)
Bay Farm is an 8.1 MW solar farm project in West Suffolk, England. Its status in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract) is: operational since 1 March 2014; the record was last updated on 31 August 2017.
8.1 MWsolar farm
operationalstatus in REPD
31 August 2017record last updated
West Suffolkcouncil area
Planning timeline
| Date | Stage |
|---|---|
| 6 August 2012 | Application submitted |
| 30 November 2012 | Planning permission granted |
| 1 June 2013 | Construction started |
| 1 March 2014 | Operational |
Project details
- Technology
- solar farm
- Capacity
- 8.1 MW
- Status (REPD)
- operational
- Record last updated
- 31 August 2017
- Operator or applicant
- NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF)
- Planning authority
- West Suffolk
- Planning application reference
- F/2012/0464/FUL
- Site area
- 15.3 ha
- Address (REPD)
- Barton Mills, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP28 6BS.
- Council area (by location)
- West Suffolk
- Time to decision
- 17 weeks
- REPD reference
- 1961
Who decides
| Applications | West Suffolk | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 38 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 5 (13%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 4 of 33 | 12% |
| Battery storage refused | 1 of 5 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 13.9 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 3 / 1 | — |
Other large projects within 10 km
| Project | Type | MW | Status | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunnica Energy Farm (East and West) | solar farm | 500 | approved, not built | 1.4 |
| Icklingham Solar Farm | solar farm | 8 | permission expired | 6.0 |
| Lackford Estate Solar Park | solar farm | 20.9 | operational | 8.2 |
| Forest Heath Solar Farm | solar farm | 5 | operational | 8.4 |
Status and dates as recorded in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract); the database is compiled from public sources and can lag behind council decisions. Location: REPD grid reference (52.3163, 0.4989).