Bentham Farm (8 MW solar farm)
Bentham Farm is an 8 MW solar farm project in Wiltshire, England. Its status in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract) is: operational since 15 July 2015; the record was last updated on 16 July 2015.
8 MWsolar farm
operationalstatus in REPD
16 July 2015record last updated
Wiltshirecouncil area
Planning timeline
| Date | Stage |
|---|---|
| 8 October 2013 | Application submitted |
| 15 December 2014 | Planning permission granted |
| 15 March 2015 | Construction started |
| 15 July 2015 | Operational |
Project details
- Technology
- solar farm
- Capacity
- 8 MW
- Status (REPD)
- operational
- Record last updated
- 16 July 2015
- Operator or applicant
- Hive Energy
- Planning authority
- Wiltshire
- Planning application reference
- 13/04872/FUL
- Site area
- 18.0 ha
- Address (REPD)
- Bentham Farm, Bentham Lane,Bentham, Purton, Swindon, Wiltshire
- Council area (by location)
- Wiltshire
- Time to decision
- 62 weeks
- REPD reference
- 2344
Who decides
| Applications | Wiltshire | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 140 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 18 (13%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 13 of 110 | 12% |
| Onshore wind refused | 1 of 1 | 45% |
| Battery storage refused | 4 of 29 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 20.9 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 5 / 7 | — |
Other large projects within 10 km
| Project | Type | MW | Status | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mopes Lane, Purton Solar Farm | solar farm | 20 | approved, not built | 1.9 |
| Bentham House Farm, Mopes Lane Solar Farm | solar farm | 12 | approved, not built | 2.3 |
| Braydon Manor Farm | solar farm | 8.7 | operational | 3.2 |
| Malmesbury Road Solar Farm | solar farm | 13 | approved, not built | 4.0 |
| Ravensroost Farm, Minety | battery storage | 49.9 | approved, not built | 4.3 |
| Fairholme, Minety | battery storage | 50 | approved, not built | 5.5 |
| Chapel Farm | solar farm | 5 | operational | 5.7 |
| Park Grounds Farm | solar farm | 5 | abandoned | 6.0 |
| Minety North | battery storage | 50 | abandoned | 6.2 |
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 (51.6055, -1.8987).