Leighton Road & Hawthorn (20 MW solar farm)
Leighton Road & Hawthorn is a 20 MW solar farm project in Central Bedfordshire, England. Its status in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract) is: approved on 29 July 2025, not yet built; the record was last updated on 17 June 2026.
20 MWsolar farm
approved, not builtstatus in REPD
17 June 2026record last updated
Central Bedfordshirecouncil area
Planning timeline
| Date | Stage |
|---|---|
| 28 February 2023 | Application submitted |
| 29 July 2025 | Planning permission granted |
| 29 July 2028 | Permission due to expire (unless work starts) |
Project details
- Technology
- solar farm
- Capacity
- 20 MW
- Status (REPD)
- approved, not built
- Record last updated
- 17 June 2026
- Operator or applicant
- Econergy International Limited
- Planning authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Planning application reference
- CB/22/04934/FULL
- Site area
- 32.5 ha
- Address (REPD)
- North of Leighton Road and West of Hawthorn
- Council area (by location)
- Central Bedfordshire
- Time to decision
- 126 weeks
- Name in REPD
- Leighton Road & Hawthorn - Solar Panels
- REPD reference
- 12613
Who decides
| Applications | Central Bedfordshire | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 59 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 8 (14%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 4 of 36 | 12% |
| Onshore wind refused | 2 of 7 | 45% |
| Battery storage refused | 2 of 16 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 19.6 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 1 / 3 | — |
Other large projects within 10 km
| Project | Type | MW | Status | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manor Farm | solar farm | 5 | operational | 0.7 |
| Grounds Farm Solar farm | solar farm | 20 | approved, not built | 1.7 |
| Trinity Hall Solar Farm | solar farm | 15 | under construction | 2.0 |
| Tilsworth | solar farm | 20.3 | application withdrawn | 2.2 |
| Smarter Network Storage | battery storage | 6 | decommissioned | 2.5 |
| Bury Farm, Dickens Lane | battery storage | 350 | refused | 3.1 |
| Eastern Way | solar farm | 20 | application submitted | 3.8 |
| Eastern Way | wind farm | 8.2 | application submitted | 3.8 |
| Bury Farm Solar Farm | solar farm | 49.9 | approved, not built | 4.9 |
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 (51.9197, -0.6169).