Wilbees Farm (5 MW solar farm)
Wilbees Farm is a 5 MW solar farm project in Wealden, England. Its status in the Renewable Energy Planning Database (July 2026 extract) is: operational since 21 October 2016; the record was last updated on 17 November 2016.
5 MWsolar farm
operationalstatus in REPD
17 November 2016record last updated
Wealdencouncil area
Planning timeline
| Date | Stage |
|---|---|
| 5 September 2014 | Application submitted |
| 14 November 2014 | Planning permission granted |
| 1 July 2016 | Construction started |
| 21 October 2016 | Operational |
Project details
- Technology
- solar farm
- Capacity
- 5 MW
- Status (REPD)
- operational
- Record last updated
- 17 November 2016
- Operator or applicant
- Hive Energy
- Planning authority
- Wealden
- Planning application reference
- WD/2014/1838/MEA
- Site area
- 15.2 ha
- Address (REPD)
- Wilbees Farm, The Street, Polegate
- Council area (by location)
- Wealden
- Time to decision
- 10 weeks
- REPD reference
- 2258
Earlier applications for this site
| Application | MW | Submitted | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilbees Farm WD/2014/0436/MEA | 7 | 13 March 2014 | refused 2 June 2014 |
Who decides
| Applications | Wealden | UK |
|---|---|---|
| Decided applications (solar, wind, battery) | 35 | 10,236 |
| Refused | 4 (11%) | 19% |
| Solar refused | 3 of 28 | 12% |
| Onshore wind refused | 1 of 1 | 45% |
| Battery storage refused | 0 of 6 | 16% |
| Median time from submission to decision | 11.6 weeks | 17.0 weeks |
| Appeals lodged / allowed | 2 / 2 | — |
Other large projects within 10 km
| Project | Type | MW | Status | km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berwick solar farm | solar farm | 8.2 | operational | 2.1 |
| Lower Claverham Farm & Mount Pleasant Farm, Berwick Solar Farm | solar farm | 49.9 | refused | 2.6 |
| Natewood Farm | solar farm | 8.9 | operational | 3.2 |
| Lower Mays Farm Solar Farm | solar farm | 5 | approved, not built | 4.0 |
| Shepham Lane | wind farm | 7.5 | operational | 5.8 |
| Laughton Level | solar farm | 7 | operational | 5.8 |
| Colbrans Farm Estate, Laughton | solar farm | 40 | approved, not built | 7.9 |
| Suncoast Battery Storage | battery storage | 5 | approved, not built | 8.8 |
| Suncoast Solar Farm | solar farm | 20 | approved, not built | 8.8 |
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 (50.8404, 0.1907).