Land adjacent to Apple Tree Farm, Mill Lane, Stelling Minnis, Canterbury, CT4 6AE Data via plota.co.uk

26/0281/FH - Full Planning Permission Approved

Proposal

Installation of a ground-mounted 18 x solar panel array. Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
25 Feb 2026
✓
Validated
13 Mar 2026
✓
Approved
7 May 2026

Approved on 7 May 2026 · Last checked 14 Sept 2026

Site constraints 6

Kent Downs National Landscape
Great weight to conserving the landscape; major development restricted.
Previously an area of outstanding natural beauty, which is still the designation in law. Since 2023 authorities must seek to further its purpose, not merely have regard to it.
Priority habitat: No main habitat but additional habitats present
A habitat of principal importance. It shapes the ecology work and the biodiversity net gain a scheme has to show.
Habitat network: Network Enhancement Zone 1
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Also on the record
Radon affected area, class 2; Inside the Stelling Minnis built-up area; Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s) had this area as grade 3, but it predates the buildings here and the current map does not class it as farmland.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 6 October 2026. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the British Geological Survey and UK Health Security Agency (radon, contains BGS materials © UKRI) and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

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Important details

Council
Shepway
Application type
Full Planning Permission
Postcode
CT4 6AE
Received
25 Feb 2026
Validated
13 Mar 2026
Ward
North Downs West
Parish
Stelling Minnis
Case officer
Show
Target decision
8 May 2026
Decision
Approve with Conditions
Decision date
7 May 2026
Applicant
Show

How this decision compares

Decided in 55 days from validation, 4 days slower than Shepway's median of 51 for full applications. Approved, as 80% of full applications here are.

92%decided within 8 weeks
80%approved
165decided in the last year

Plota live figures for full applications decided by Shepway in the last twelve months, from validation. Shepway decision record →

Public comments

No public comments yet.

Last counted 14 Sept 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Comments by
16 Apr 2026
Shepway
Planning Authority Score
7.4/10
Good
#49 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Householder decisions

Shepway is one of the fastest councils in England for householder decisions, ranking #5 out of 296. Only 12% of applications have the time limit extended, well below the 41% national average - the council usually decides on time. Householder applications are slightly less likely to be approved here (88%) than the national average (90%).

Among the fastest councils in England
for householder decisions
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Shepway decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
82%
Overall approval rate
Below avg (87%) #247 of 296
88%
Householder approved
Below avg (90%) #219 of 296
96%
Decided in 8 weeks
Above avg (63%) #5 of 296
12%
Extended time limit
Below avg (41%) #5 of 296
61%
Minor dwellings approved
95 decided (1-9 homes)
100%
Major dwellings approved
13 decided (10+ homes)
69%
Change of use approved
32 decided
761
Total decisions
139 refused in the year to March 2026