Upper Newton Farm (Blythe House) Solar Farm & Battery Storage (27.7 MW)
Upper Newton Farm (Blythe House) Solar Farm & Battery Storage is a 27.7 MW solar farm project in Staffordshire Moorlands, England. Its status in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract) is: approved on 1 February 2023, not yet built; the record was last updated on 7 May 2026.
27.7 MWsolar farm
approved, not builtstatus in REPD
7 May 2026record last updated
Staffordshire Moorlandscouncil area
Planning timeline
| Date | Stage |
|---|---|
| 24 March 2022 | Application submitted |
| 1 February 2023 | Planning permission granted |
| 28 February 2028 | Permission due to expire (unless work starts) |
Project details
- Technology
- solar farm
- Capacity
- 27.7 MW
- Status (REPD)
- approved, not built
- Record last updated
- 7 May 2026
- Operator or applicant
- Innova Renewables
- Planning authority
- Staffordshire Moorlands
- Planning application reference
- SMD/2022/0160
- Site area
- 42.2 ha
- Address (REPD)
- Upper Newton Farm, Draycott Road, Upper Tean
- Council area (by location)
- Staffordshire Moorlands
- Time to decision
- 45 weeks
- Contracts for Difference
- AR7a
- Name in REPD
- Upper Newton Farm (Blythe House) - Solar Farm & Battery Storage
- REPD reference
- 10977
The scheme also includes 27.7 MW of solar farm, recorded separately in REPD (approved, not built).
Who decides
| Applications | Staffordshire Moorlands | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 25 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 8 (32%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 3 of 15 | 12% |
| Battery storage refused | 5 of 10 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 28.4 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 1 / 1 | — |
Other large projects within 10 km
| Project | Type | MW | Status | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Newton Farm | solar farm | 11.5 | operational | <0.1 |
| Upper Newton Farm (Blythe House) Solar Farm & Battery Storage | battery storage | 30 | approved, not built | <0.1 |
| Blythe House Farm Extension | solar farm | 16.6 | approved, not built | 0.2 |
| Totmonslow Farm, Upper Tean Solar Farm | solar farm | 19.8 | approved, not built | 1.1 |
| Upper Leigh Solar Farm | solar farm | 49.9 | approved, not built | 2.2 |
| Tean Leys Farm, Tean Leys | battery storage | 70 | application submitted | 2.4 |
| Solar Farm at New Buildings Solar Farm | solar farm | 40 | application submitted | 2.9 |
| Upper Leigh | battery storage | 20 | application submitted | 3.0 |
| The Fields Farm | solar farm | 5 | refused | 3.0 |
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 (52.9473, -2.0203).