Powered land · Bedford, England
46 ha brownfield site at RAF Cardington and adjoining land Shortstown, Bedford
A brownfield site of 45.8 ha in Bedford, England, on the brownfield land register as previously developed land. It lies 2 km from the Harrowden Primary 11kV substation (UK Power Networks, East England licence area), which has 18.5 MVA of demand headroom and 33.5 MVA for generation.
Owner, grid capacity and planning status on request.We do not publish owners. Ask us and we look up the registered owner of this site at HM Land Registry, the headroom and connection queue at the nearest substation and its planning history, and find out whether the site is available.
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Facts
Every value links to its source. Licences and last-checked dates are per row.
| Fact | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 45.8 ha (the area its register gives) | Rare Context powered-land sites · ODbL 1.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Site from | Brownfield land register (England) | Rare Context powered-land sites · ODbL 1.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Owner type | Not stated | planning.data.gov.uk · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Planning permission | Granted | planning.data.gov.uk · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Address | RAF Cardington and adjoining land Shortstown | planning.data.gov.uk · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Permit date | 14 Sept 2005 (outline-planning-permission, issued by Bedford Borough Council) | planning.data.gov.uk · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Register reference | 02/01920/OUT (planning authority Bedford Borough Council) | planning.data.gov.uk · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Register entry | Brownfield site: RAF Cardington and adjoining land Shortstown | planning.data.gov.uk · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Adopted local plan | Bedford Local Plan 2030 (Bedford Borough Council; adopted 15 Jan 2020) | planning.data.gov.uk · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Not designated | ancient woodland, conservation area, green belt, National Landscape (AONB), national park, Ramsar wetland, registered park and garden, scheduled monument, Special Area of Conservation (Natura 2000), Special Protection Area (Natura 2000), Site of Special Scientific Interest, World Heritage Site buffer zone and World Heritage Site (checked against the published areas) | planning.data.gov.uk · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Location | Bedford, England | Rare Context powered-land sites · ODbL 1.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Coordinates | 52.1131, -0.4263 (the register's point for the site) | Rare Context powered-land sites · ODbL 1.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Nearest substation | Harrowden Primary 11kV (2 km, register point to the substation's mapped point) | Rare Context powered-land sites · ODbL 1.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Substation voltage | 11 kV | UK Power Networks open data portal · CC BY 4.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Substation operator | Eastern Power Networks plc (UK Power Networks, East England licence area) | UK Power Networks open data portal · CC BY 4.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Demand headroom at the substation | 18.5 MVA | UK Power Networks open data portal · CC BY 4.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Generation headroom at the substation | 33.5 MVA | UK Power Networks open data portal · CC BY 4.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Large generation within 10 km | 65 MW of waste-to-energy (1 plant of 50 MW or more in operation) | Rare Context powered-land sites · ODbL 1.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Water stress | Low to medium (10–20%) (score 1.8 of 5, withdrawals 17.3% of renewable supply) | WRI Aqueduct 4.0 · CC BY 4.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
The register gives a point and an area, not an outline: the distance runs from that point, so the site's edge can be closer to the substation.
How it compares
#21 of 24 sites in Bedford and #4,601 of 8,607 in the United Kingdom by site score. Larger than 79% of the sites in Bedford. Closer to its substation than 17% of them.
| Part | This site | Points | Of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area | 45.8 ha | 12.2 | 30 |
| Distance to the substation | 2 km | 0 | 30 |
| Demand headroom at the substation | 18.5 MVA | 18.5 | 40 |
| Site score | 31 | 100 |
How the site score works in the United Kingdom · Search sites in Bedford
Nearby sites on the same substation
2 other sites have Harrowden Primary 11kV as nearest substation and would compete for its capacity.
- 4.69 ha brownfield site at Aspects Leisure Park, Bedford1.6 km · score 25
- 1.38 ha brownfield site at Area J1 Bedford Road Wixams3.57 km · score 19
- Sites in Bedford24
- Sites in the United Kingdom8,730
- Harrowden Primary 11kVsubstation
Data on this page
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. DESNZ Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD), Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Supported by National Energy SO Open Data. NESO GIS boundaries for GB DNO licence areas, NESO Open Data Licence.
- Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. ONS Open Geography: Local Authority Districts, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. planning.data.gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Rare Context. Rare Context powered-land sites, ODbL 1.0.
- UK Power Networks. UK Power Networks open data portal, CC BY 4.0.
- Kuzma, S., M.F.P. Bierkens, S. Lakshman, T. Luo, L. Saccoccia, E. H. Sutanudjaja, and R. Van Beek. 2023. Aqueduct 4.0: Updated Decision-Relevant Global Water Risk Indicators. Technical Note. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute. doi.org/10.46830/writn.23.00061. WRI Aqueduct 4.0, CC BY 4.0.