Great Wheatley Road Solar Farm (30 MW)
Great Wheatley Road Solar Farm is a 30 MW solar farm project in Rochford, England. Its status in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract) is: under construction since 1 January 2026; the record was last updated on 17 June 2026.
30 MWsolar farm
under constructionstatus in REPD
17 June 2026record last updated
Rochfordcouncil area
Planning timeline
| Date | Stage |
|---|---|
| 17 March 2022 | Application submitted |
| 5 July 2023 | Refused by the planning authority |
| 1 September 2023 | Appeal lodged |
| 11 March 2024 | Planning permission granted |
| 11 March 2024 | Appeal allowed |
| 1 January 2026 | Construction started |
Project details
- Technology
- solar farm
- Capacity
- 30 MW
- Status (REPD)
- under construction
- Record last updated
- 17 June 2026
- Operator or applicant
- Aura Power Solar UK Limited
- Planning authority
- Rochford
- Planning application reference
- 22/00175/FUL
- Appeal reference
- APP/B1550/W/23/3329891
- Site area
- 45.2 ha
- Address (REPD)
- W/O Great Wheatley Farm, Great Wheatley Road, Rayleigh
- Council area (by location)
- Rochford
- Time to decision
- 104 weeks
- Contracts for Difference
- AR6
- Name in REPD
- Great Wheatley Road - Solar Farm
- REPD reference
- 9802
Who decides
| Applications | Rochford | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 12 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 3 (25%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 3 of 9 | 12% |
| Battery storage refused | 0 of 3 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 25.0 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 1 / 1 | — |
Other large projects within 10 km
| Project | Type | MW | Status | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rayleigh Transforming Station | battery storage | 10.8 | permission expired | 0.6 |
| Fairlawns Farm, Chelmsford Road | battery storage | 480 | approved, not built | 0.9 |
| Dollymans Storage | battery storage | 100 | operational | 2.7 |
| Rayleigh Spur Roundabout, Benfleet | battery storage | 150 | application submitted | 4.7 |
| Southlands Solar Farm & Battery Storage | solar farm | 24.6 | approved, not built | 5.5 |
| Battlesbridge Bypass, Rettendon | battery storage | 100 | refused | 6.6 |
| Nevendon | battery storage | 10 | operational | 7.2 |
| Nevendon Battery Storage Extension | battery storage | 5 | operational | 7.2 |
| South Fambridge Hall Solar farm & Battery storage | solar farm | 50 | under construction | 8.1 |
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 (51.5813, 0.5976).