Land North Of Aylsham Road Cawston Norfolk Data via plota.co.uk

2025/1531 - Full Refused

Proposal

Construction, operation, and subsequent decommissioning of a renewable energy park, comprising ground mounted solar photovoltaics (PV) together with associated infrastructure, including inverters, transformers, substation, cabling, CCTV, fencing, access and landscaping Data via plota.co.uk

Track application Save this application and get an email when its status or decision changes. Alerts nearby Get email alerts for new planning applications near this address.

View original council record ↗Last checked 1 Nov 2026, 13:06

Application progress

✓

Received

20 May 2025

✓

Consultation

6 Nov 2025

✗

Refused

5 Dec 2025

Appeal

Not lodged

Refused on 5 Dec 2025 · Development Management Committee · Last checked 19 Oct 2026

Planning committee

Decided by South Norfolk Broadland Broadland Planning Committee on 3 Dec 2025.

Refused

Against officer advice: officers had recommended approval.

Officers advised approval because the renewable energy benefits outweighed identified harms, subject to noise matters and conditions.
People raised concerns about agricultural land, landscape, heritage, ecology, highways and construction traffic, while two representations supported renewable energy.
Members voted 5–2 to refuse a renewable energy park because its agricultural land impacts were not outweighed by its energy benefits.

Source: Plota analysis of South Norfolk Broadland's committee minutes, South Norfolk Broadland Broadland Planning Committee minutes, 3 December 2025 .

Documents 369

Decision & officer reports 8

PDF Decision Appeal Decision (K) · 14 Oct 2026 View ↗ PDF Costs decision Appeal Decision (K) · 14 Oct 2026 View ↗ PDF Committee report Appeal Correspondence (D) · 27 Aug 2026 View ↗ PDF 6.39 east of haydon road committee report Appellant's Case (K) · 20 Jul 2026 View ↗ PDF 6.38 east of haydon road decision notice Appellant's Case (K) · 20 Jul 2026 View ↗ PDF Decision (k) Decision (K) · 5 Dec 2025 View ↗ PDF Committee decision sheet File Notes (K) · 3 Dec 2025 View ↗ PDF Committee report Delegated/Committee Report (K) · 25 Nov 2025 View ↗

Statements & assessments 97

Plans & drawings 57

Application forms 4

PDF Appeal form Appeal Form (K) · 28 May 2026 View ↗ PDF Appeal core documents 1.8 wrw01a cil form Appellant's Case (K) · 28 May 2026 View ↗ PDF Appeal core documents 1.1 application form redacted Appellant's Case (K) · 28 May 2026 View ↗ PDF Application form redacted Application Form (K) · 20 May 2025 View ↗

Consultation & comments 79

PDF Commenter’s name hidden Show Public Comment (D) · 11 Sept 2026 View ↗

PDF Response to appellants cost claim Council's Case (K) · 10 Sept 2026 View ↗ PDF Appellants comments to nppf 2026 letter Appellant's Case (K) · 27 Aug 2026 View ↗ PDF Interested party comments Appeal Correspondence (D) · 14 Aug 2026 View ↗ PDF Appeal hearing letter consultee list Appeal Correspondence (D) · 10 Aug 2026 View ↗ PDF Comments from interested parties Appeal Correspondence (D) · 30 Jun 2026 View ↗ PDF Broadland consultee list Council's Case (K) · 28 May 2026 View ↗ PDF Appeal core documents 2.8 applicant response to public comments Appellant's Case (K) · 28 May 2026 View ↗ PDF Appeal core documents 2.7 applicant response to consultee comments Appellant's Case (K) · 28 May 2026 View ↗ PDF Appeal core documents 2.6 wrw01a_wildlife_trust_response Appellant's Case (K) · 28 May 2026 View ↗ PDF Appeal core documents 3.2 landscape officer response Appellant's Case (K) · 28 May 2026 View ↗ PDF Appeal core documents 3.1 natural england response Appellant's Case (K) · 28 May 2026 View ↗ PDF Landscape architect (bdc) Consultee Comment (D) · 6 Oct 2025 View ↗ PDF Applicant response to public comments BackGround Papers (K) · 3 Oct 2025 View ↗ PDF Applicant response to consultee comments Report (K) · 29 Sept 2025 View ↗ PDF Landscape architect (bdc) Consultee Comment (D) · 17 Sept 2025 View ↗ PDF Norfolk wildlife trust Consultee Comment (D) · 11 Sept 2025 View ↗ PDF Re consultation request Officer Notes · 10 Sept 2025 View ↗ PDF Agent response to wildlife trust BackGround Papers (K) · 9 Sept 2025 View ↗ PDF County councillor Consultee Comment (D) · 15 Aug 2025 View ↗ PDF Re consultation request Officer Notes · 13 Aug 2025 View ↗ PDF Norfolk wildlife trust Consultee Comment (D) · 30 Jul 2025 View ↗ PDF Historic environment service Consultee Comment (D) · 24 Jul 2025 View ↗ PDF Public right of way officer comments Consultee Comment (D) · 22 Jul 2025 View ↗ PDF Natural england Consultee Comment (D) · 14 Jul 2025 View ↗ PDF Minerals and waste Consultee Comment (D) · 10 Jul 2025 View ↗ PDF Norwich airport Consultee Comment (D) · 4 Jul 2025 View ↗ PDF Conservation & tree officer Consultee Comment (D) · 3 Jul 2025 View ↗

PDF Commenter’s name hidden Show Public Comment (D) · 24 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Ncc highways Consultee Comment (D) · 23 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Commenter’s name hidden Show Public Comment (D) · 20 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Commenter’s name hidden Show Public Comment (D) · 19 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Parish council comments Consultee Comment (D) · 19 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Commenter’s name hidden Show Public Comment (D) · 18 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Commenter’s name hidden Show Public Comment (D) · 17 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Public comment Public Comment (D) · 16 Jun 2025 View ↗ PDF Public comment Public Comment (D) · 15 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Commenter’s name hidden Show Public Comment (D) · 14 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Commenter’s name hidden Show Public Comment (D) · 11 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Commenter’s name hidden Show Public Comment (D) · 10 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Commenter’s name hidden Show Public Comment (D) · 9 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Commenter’s name hidden Show Public Comment (D) · 5 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Public comment Public Comment (D) · 5 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Commenter’s name hidden Show Public Comment (D) · 4 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Norfolk fire service Consultee Comment (D) · 4 Jun 2025 View ↗ PDF Public comment Public Comment (D) · 4 Jun 2025 View ↗ PDF Public comment Public Comment (D) · 4 Jun 2025 View ↗ PDF Environmental quality team Consultee Comment (D) · 3 Jun 2025 View ↗ PDF Public comment Public Comment (D) · 2 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Commenter’s name hidden Show Public Comment (D) · 1 Jun 2025 View ↗

PDF Commenter’s name hidden Show Public Comment (D) · 31 May 2025 View ↗

PDF Cllr call in of application Consultee Comment (D) · 30 May 2025 View ↗ PDF Anglian water Consultee Comment (D) · 29 May 2025 View ↗

Other documents 124

All documents on the council site ↗

Site constraints 5

Nutrient neutrality catchment: Bure Broads and Marshes

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.

Agricultural land, grade 2

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), which most planning maps still show, had this area as grade 3. The predicted grade is Defra's current estimate; only a site survey settles it.

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 about 646 m away: Sheringham and Dudgeon Extension Projects

The site is about 646 m from the project boundary. Generating station, decided. The project page says whether consent was granted. Also within 2 km: Norfolk Boreas (decided, about 1361 m); Norfolk Vanguard (decided, about 1361 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 ↗

Habitat network: Network Expansion Zone

Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.

Also on the record

SSSI about 422 m away: Cawston and Marsham Heaths SSSI.

Not affected

Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 1 November 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 Planning Inspectorate 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.

Work with planning data?

Every application in South Norfolk Broadland - and every UK council - as a live feed, an API, or a bulk CSV export.

About Plota's data service

Important details

Council: South Norfolk Broadland
Application type: Full
Received: 20 May 2025
Validated: 20 May 2025
Ward: Eynesford
Parish: Cawston
Case officer: Show
Target decision: 5 Dec 2025
Decision: Refusal
Decision date: 5 Dec 2025
Decision level: Development Management Committee
Applicant: Show

How this decision compares

Decided in 199 days from validation, 99 days slower than South Norfolk Broadland's median of 100 for full applications. Refused, as 14% of full applications here are.

This one199d

Council100d

UK57d

22%decided within 8 weeks

86%approved

10%go to committee

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

Public comments

28comments received

26 objecting2 supporting

93% object · above the UK average of 74%

62 neighbours consulted · Last counted 19 Oct 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Alt. reference: PP-14007464
Planning Portal ref: PP-14007464
Neighbours: 29 May 2025
Consultation: 6 Nov 2025
Comments by: 20 Oct 2025
Site or press notice: 19 Jun 2025
Committee: 3 Dec 2025
Statutory expiry: 19 Aug 2025
Env. assessment: No

South Norfolk Broadland

Planning Authority Score

5.9/10

Average

#106 of 296 councils

Relevant to this application:

Householder decisions

South Norfolk Broadland ranks #136 out of 296 councils for householder decision speed. Householder applications are slightly more likely to be approved here (95%) than the national average (90%).

These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance

South Norfolk Broadland decision statistics

Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026

93%

Overall approval rate

Above avg (87%) #50 of 296

95%

Householder approved

Above avg (90%) #71 of 296

67%

Decided in 8 weeks

Above avg (63%) #136 of 296

42%

Extended time limit

Above avg (41%) #161 of 296

82%

Minor dwellings approved

137 decided (1-9 homes)

92%

Major dwellings approved

12 decided (10+ homes)

100%

Change of use approved

33 decided

1,013

Total decisions

67 refused in the year to March 2026