LAND AT HOLT FARM (EAST OF REDWOOD FARM) Jenny Green Lane, Bentworth, Alton, Hampshire Data via plota.co.uk

EHDC-26-0397-FUL - Full Planning Application Pending Consideration

Proposal

Installation of a ground-mounted solar photovoltaic array and associated infrastructure, access track, security fencing and landscaping, together with a change of use from arable agriculture to renewable energy generation at Holt Farm in Bentworth. Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
15 Apr 2026
✓
Validated
7 May 2026
Decision
Expected by 30 Sept 2026

Under consideration

No decision has been issued yet. Plota predicts a decision around 9 Oct 2026, from East Hampshire's recent changes of use.

The consultation period closed on 1 Oct 2026.

Documents 29

All documents on the council site ↗

Site constraints 4

Agricultural land, grade 3a
Best and most versatile land (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Source: the Predictive Agricultural Land Classification Map (Defra and Natural England, 2025; the Welsh Government's Predictive ALC Map 2 in Wales), a model rather than a site survey. Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s) agrees.
Where development of farmland is needed, policy prefers poorer land over the best and most versatile (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Three sources: Natural England's post-1988 field surveys, which are definitive where they exist; the Defra predictive map for England (2025) and the Welsh Government predictive map, modelled from the soil map with 3a and 3b split; and the 1970s provisional map, which planners and other services still show, coarser and with grade 3 undivided. Where the provisional and predicted grades disagree, treat the predicted grade as the current estimate and expect an application to carry its own survey.
Also on the record
1 listed building within 150 m of the postcode pin; Radon affected area, class 4; Open access land about 21 m away: Access Land - Combined Open Country, Registered Common Land and Section 16 Dedicated Land. MoD Byelaw, Section 28 Exclusions, Racecourses and Aerodromes and ECP Margin have been removed..
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 6 October 2026. The pin for this application is the centre of its postcode rather than the building, so distances to nearby designations are measured from the postcode and can be out by the width of the postcode area. 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

Application type
Full Planning Application
Postcode
GU34 5LF
Received
15 Apr 2026
Validated
7 May 2026
Ward
Bentworth & Froyle
Parish
Bentworth CP
Case officer
Show
Target decision
30 Sept 2026
Decision level
Delegated
Applicant
Show
Agent
Neame Sutton Limited

Decision outlook

Day 155, past the statutory target. 33% of changes of use in East Hampshire are decided within thirteen weeks; extensions of time are common, and the council need not decide on the day. Last seen undecided on 7 Oct 2026.

Day 15599 days past the 56-day target
15%decided within 8 weeks
79%approved
58decided in the last year

Plota live figures for changes of use decided by East Hampshire in the last twelve months, from validation. East Hampshire decision record →

Consultation & key dates

Comments by
1 Oct 2026
Statutory expiry
30 Sept 2026
East Hampshire
Planning Authority Score
1.5/10
Poor
#282 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Change of use

East Hampshire is one of the slowest councils in England for householder decisions, ranking #293 out of 296. The council extends the time limit on 72% of applications - one of the highest rates in England. Expect your application to take longer than the standard deadline. Householder applications are slightly more likely to be approved here (91%) than the national average (90%).

Among the slowest councils in England
for householder decisions
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
East Hampshire decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
88%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #153 of 296
91%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #173 of 296
24%
Decided in 8 weeks
Below avg (63%) #293 of 296
72%
Extended time limit
Above avg (41%) #288 of 296
63%
Minor dwellings approved
72 decided (1-9 homes)
78%
Major dwellings approved
9 decided (10+ homes)
88%
Change of use approved
24 decided
606
Total decisions
72 refused in the year to March 2026