Fort Widley Portsdown Hill Road Portsmouth PO6 3LS Data via plota.co.uk

25/00797/FUL - Full Application Awaiting decision

Proposal

Installation of a battery energy storage system and associated infrastructure and access Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
11 Jul 2025
✓
Validated
31 Jul 2025
✓
Consultation
8 Aug 2025
Decision
Target date was 30 Oct 2025

Under consideration

No decision has been issued yet. Plota predicted a decision around 28 Oct 2026; it is now day 454.

The consultation period closed on 5 Sept 2025.

Documents 33

All documents on the council site ↗

Site constraints 11

Scheduled monument: Fort Widley
Scheduled monument consent is needed for any work to it, separate from planning permission.
Nationally important archaeology protected by the Secretary of State. Work that affects the monument or its setting is rarely permitted.
Historic England ↗
Grade II* listed: Fort Widley
List entry 1387128 · 15 m away · 1 more listed building within 150 m (1 Grade II)
Listed building consent is needed for work that affects the special interest of a listed building, inside or out, on top of planning permission. Setting can be a consideration for buildings nearby; there is no fixed radius.
Show the other one with distances
Historic England ↗
Nutrient neutrality catchment: Solent: Includes Chichester and Langstone Harbours SPA/Ramsar, Solent and Southampton Water SPA/Ramsar, Solent Maritime SAC, Portsmouth Harbour SPA/Ramsar
New homes and overnight accommodation must show nutrient neutrality before approval.
Natural England advice: extra wastewater in these catchments harms protected habitats, so schemes must offset their nutrient load, usually through credits.
Heritage at risk: Fort Widley, Portsmouth
On the register of historic places assessed as at risk.
A designated building, monument, park or conservation area assessed as at risk from neglect, decay or development. Proposals that secure its future are looked on favourably.
Historic England ↗
Agricultural land, grade 3b
Not 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. A site survey can differ.
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.
National infrastructure project 387 m away: Hampshire Water Transfer and Water Recycling Project
The site is 387 m from the project boundary. Dam or reservoir, accepted for examination. Also within 2 km: AQUIND Interconnector (awaiting the Secretary of State's decision, 988 m).
Nationally significant infrastructure projects (power stations, electricity lines, pipelines, major roads and railways, harbours, airports and reservoirs) are consented by a Secretary of State under the Planning Act 2008, after an examination by the Planning Inspectorate, rather than by the council. The boundary is the one the Inspectorate consults on and can change as the scheme does. Projects are shown within 2 km of the site.
Planning Inspectorate project page ↗
SSSI 34 m away: Portsdown SSSI
Natural England may need consulting, depending on what is proposed.
Sites of special scientific interest are the best wildlife and geological sites in the country. Development likely to harm one is rarely permitted.
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; Priority habitat 34 m away: Lowland calcareous grassland; Open access land 33 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

Checked on 15 October 2026. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Planning Inspectorate, 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
Portsmouth
Application type
Full Application
Postcode
PO6 3LS
Received
11 Jul 2025
Validated
31 Jul 2025
Ward
Cosham
Case officer
Show
Target decision
30 Oct 2025
Decision level
Delegated
Applicant
Show
Agent
Sustainability Unlimited
Freehold owner
Show

Decision outlook

Day 454, past the statutory target. 62% of full applications in Portsmouth are decided within thirteen weeks; extensions of time are common, and the council need not decide on the day. Last seen undecided on 23 Oct 2026.

Day 454398 days past the 56-day target
37%decided within 8 weeks
79%approved
17%go to committee

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

Public comments

1comment received
1 objecting

4 neighbours consulted · Last counted 23 Oct 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Alt. reference
PP-14073101
Planning Portal ref
PP-14073101
Neighbours
7 Aug 2025
Consultation
8 Aug 2025
Comments by
5 Sept 2025
Site or press notice
15 Aug 2025
Statutory expiry
30 Oct 2025
Env. assessment
No
Portsmouth
Planning Authority Score
3.1/10
Poor
#232 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Householder decisions

Portsmouth ranks #188 out of 296 councils for householder decision speed. 48% of applications have the time limit extended, above the 41% national average. Householder applications are slightly less likely to be approved here (89%) than the national average (90%).

These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Portsmouth decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
86%
Overall approval rate
Below avg (87%) #196 of 296
89%
Householder approved
Below avg (90%) #207 of 296
60%
Decided in 8 weeks
Below avg (63%) #188 of 296
48%
Extended time limit
Above avg (41%) #217 of 296
61%
Minor dwellings approved
44 decided (1-9 homes)
90%
Major dwellings approved
10 decided (10+ homes)
77%
Change of use approved
99 decided
613
Total decisions
85 refused in the year to March 2026

Freehold owner and leaseholders: Information produced by HM Land Registry. © Crown copyright 2026. Source: HM Land Registry, UK and overseas companies that own property in England and Wales, September 2026 release.