Solar Panels - Do they require planning consent?

Solar panels are becoming a more and more common sight on domestic properties. This presents a challenge to conveyancers when dealing with the sale and purchase of houses. It is only in recent years that conveyancers are coming across houses with solar panels and they need to familiarise themselves with the legal position regarding planning consent – when acting for a buyer, the conveyance cannot afford to get this wrong or their client may find themselves facing enforcement action from the local authority once they have moved into their new home.

So what is the position regarding Planning Consent?

Generally, the installation of solar panels is permitted development and no planning consent is required. There is however conditions that need to be met before the installation can be considered permitted development -

 

 

a)     Solar panels mounted on houses should  -

i)      Be installed on that part of the building that will cause a minimal effect to the external appearance of the building and should be removed when no longer required.

ii)     Be lower than the highest part of the roof and project less than 200mm from the roof slope or wall surface.

iii)    Not be installed on a building that is within the grounds of a listed building.

iv)   Not be installed on a scheduled monument.

v)    Not be installed on a wall facing the highway, if the property is within a conservation area or in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or a World Heritage Site.

 

b)    Standalone solar panels should-

i)      Not be higher than 4 metres and must be more than 5 metres from the boundary of the property

ii)     Not have an array that is more than 9 square metres or 3 metres in width and depth.

iii)    Not be installed on a wall facing the highway, if the property is within a conservation area or in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or a World Heritage Site.

iv)   More than the first standalone solar panels – after the first installation any subsequent solar panels require planning consent.

 

Although planning consent may not be required, the solar panels may require Buildings Regulations Approval.

Is planning consent needed for a conservatory?

Conservatories are often a bone of contention between Conveyancers with one saying that the Conservatory should have had Planning Consent and/or Buildings Regulations Approval and another saying that this was not needed – such arguments are often the cause of unnecessary delay in the sale and purchase of a property.  

 

So what is the answer?

Planning Consent

As a general rule Planning Consent is not required as a Conservatory (unlike a house extension) is considered to be permitted development. As always there are exceptions and this is what causes the arguments. A Conservatory will not be permitted development (and will therefore require planning consent) in the following instances:

 

·         Just as in the case of a house extension the conservatory does not take up half the garden (this refers to the garden of the house when it was originally built – so if there have been previous house extensions there could be an issue)

·         The roof must not be higher than the roof of the house. Again this same rule would apply to a house extension.

·         The conservatory is more than 3 metres (4 metres in the case of a detached house) beyond the rear wall of the original house - again beware if there has been a previous house extension.

Conservatories and house extensions will nearly always require planning consent if the property is within either of a National Park, the Broads, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or a World Heritage site.

·         The property is within a conservation area or is a listed building.

·         The Local Council have imposed an Article 4 Direction on the area in which the property is situated. This in effect cancels the General Permitted Development Rights in the area meaning that planning consent will be required for any house extension or conservatory.

·         The property is a flat or a maisonette. The General Permitted Development Rights do not apply to flats or maisonette.

·         The permitted development rights were excluded from the property as a condition of the planning consent for the original construction of the property. The planning condition usually specifically states that house extensions and additions or any external alterations will require express planning consent.

 

 

Buildings Regulations Approval.

As a conservatory is in affect a type of house extension, it will require Buildings Regulations Approval – however unlike house extensions, there are exceptions:

·         If the conservatory is at ground level and less that 30 square metres

·         The conservatory is separated from the house by a door or window.

·         The conservatory has an independent heating system

·         Electrical installations involved will be subject to the usual Buildings Regulations Approval regime.