Newton Downs Farm (5 MW solar farm)
Newton Downs Farm is a 5 MW solar farm project in South Hams, England. Its status in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract) is: operational since 15 February 2017; the record was last updated on 2 March 2018.
5 MWsolar farm
operationalstatus in REPD
2 March 2018record last updated
South Hamscouncil area
Planning timeline
| Date | Stage |
|---|---|
| 26 June 2015 | Application submitted |
| 15 July 2016 | Planning permission granted |
| 31 October 2016 | Construction started |
| 15 February 2017 | Operational |
Project details
- Technology
- solar farm
- Capacity
- 5 MW
- Status (REPD)
- operational
- Record last updated
- 2 March 2018
- Operator or applicant
- Core Aries (Renewable Energy)
- Planning authority
- South Hams
- Planning application reference
- 37/1426/15/F
- Site area
- 11.9 ha
- Address (REPD)
- Newton Downs Farm, Newton Ferrers, Plymouth, Devon
- Council area (by location)
- South Hams
- Time to decision
- 55 weeks
- REPD reference
- 5451
Who decides
| Applications | South Hams | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 36 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 6 (17%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 3 of 28 | 12% |
| Onshore wind refused | 3 of 3 | 45% |
| Battery storage refused | 0 of 5 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 13.1 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 1 / 2 | — |
Other large projects within 10 km
| Project | Type | MW | Status | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balls Wood Solar Farm | solar farm | 8.7 | operational | 2.6 |
| Creacombe Solar Farm | solar farm | 7.3 | operational | 3.9 |
| Langage Solar Farm | solar farm | 5 | operational | 7.1 |
| Plymouth Stor Generation | battery storage | 20 | approved, not built | 7.4 |
| Chelson Meadow Solar Farm | solar farm | 13 | approved, not built | 7.5 |
| Newnham Estate | solar farm | 14 | operational | 9.1 |
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 (50.3264, -4.0303).