Planning

Solar PV systems in the UK may require planning permission, depending on the nature of the building and its location.

Domestic premises often benefit from Permitted Development rights and do not require planning permission for solar panels, as long as they are not in a Conservation Area, and as long as the system does not protrude more than 20cm above the original roof.

You can check the relevant official legislation at:

England - General Permitted Development Order (GPDO)

Scotland - Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Domestic Microgeneration) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2009

Wales - The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (Wales) Order 2009)

Commercial and industrial premises have recently been granted permitted development rights to install solar PV panels installed on roofs.  See below for more details.

Building Regulations

Building Regulations will apply to all projects.  It is essential that the roof structure is strong enough to support the PV installation, that the system is appropriately sited and installed to withstand strong winds and harsh weather conditions.  Other aspects of the installation such as the electrical configuration will also be subject to Building Regulations.

If you are unsure with regards to any of these issues, we strongly recommend you contact us so that we can recommend an installer company which has completed our training courses. 

Commercial Buildings

From 6th April 2012 planning permission is no longer required to install solar PV or solar thermal on non-domestic buildings.  The amendments to Permitted Development Rights will also mean that ground-mounted systems up to 9m² will be able to go ahead without a planning application.

Roof mounted systems

A roof-mounted solar system must not protrude more than 200mm from the roof/wall surface it is mounted on. There is an exception to this is if the system is on a flat roof, where the solar PV must be less than 1m in height above the highest part of the flat roof excluding any chimneys.

The roof-mounted solar installation must also be more than 1m away from the external edge of the roof or the joint of the wall that it is on and if the system is situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty, or land with similar restrictions (article 1(5) then the solar cannot be on a roof slope or wall fronting the highway.

Furthermore, planning permission is required if the solar is on a listed building, on a building within the curtilage of a listed building or upon a site designated as a scheduled ancient monument.

Further conditions:

• The solar equipment must, so far as practicable, be sited so as to minimise its effect on the external appearance of the building;
• The solar equipment must, so far as practicable, be sited so as to minimise its effect on the amenity of the area; and
• Solar equipment no longer needed for micro generation must be removed as soon as reasonably practicable

Ground mounted systems

In terms of ground-mounted solar, the new planning conditions also mean that installations of up to 9m2 will not require permissions. However, the solar must not be taller than 4m, only one to ground mounted system can be present of any one building and the solar must not be installed so that it is nearer to any highway than any part of the building which is nearest to the same highway.

Further, the solar must not be installed within 5m of the boundary of the curtilage and planning permission will still be required if the solar is within the curtilage of a listed building or on a site designated as a scheduled ancient monument.

Further conditions:

• The ground mounted solar must, so far as practicable, be sited so as to minimise its effect on the amenity of the area; and
• Ground mounted solar which is no longer needed for micro generation must be removed as soon as reasonably practicable.

You can read the full legislation here.