Class A Permitted development
A. the installation, alteration or replacement of
solar PV or solar thermal equipment on--
(a) a dwellinghouse; or
(b) a building situated within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse
Development not permitted
A.1. Development is not permitted by Class A, in the case of
solar PV or solar thermal equipment installed on an existing
wall or roof of a dwellinghouse or a building within its curtilage if--
(a) the solar PV or solar thermal equipment would protrude more than
200 millimetres beyond the plane of the wall or the roof slope when measured
from the perpendicular with the external surface of the wall or roof slope;
Limitation (a) restricts a panel's projection from the plane of a wall or roof to a maximum of 200mm. In practice, panels often project somewhat less than this...perhaps only 100mm...depending on the type of panel. Also, there's no distinction made between Photo Voltaic (PV) and water (or other fluid) type panels.
(b) it would result in the highest part of the solar PV or
solar thermal equipment being higher than the highest
part of the roof (excluding any chimney);
In common with other Limitations in the GPDO, the highest part of the roof, usually the ridge, is the maximum height allowed
(c) in the case of land within a conservation area or which is a World Heritage Site,
the solar PV or solar thermal equipment would be installed--
(i) on a wall forming the principal or side elevation
of the dwellinghouse and would be visible from a highway; or
(ii) on a wall of a building within the curtilage of the
dwellinghouse and would be visible from a highway;
The restrictions here apply to the front wall and the side wall when:
:the house is in a conservation area or World Heritage Site AND
:is visible from a highway.
For garden buildings in these areas its any wall when the panel would be visible from a highway.
(d) the solar PV or solar thermal equipment would be installed
on a building within the curtilage of the dwellinghouse if the
dwellinghouse is a listed building.
No Part 40 PD Rights on a Listed Building
Conditions
A.2. Development is permitted by Class A, subject to the following conditions--
(a) solar PV or solar thermal equipment installed on a building shall,
so far as practicable, be sited so as to minimise its effect on the
external appearance of the building;
(b) solar PV or solar thermal equipment shall, so far as practicable,
be sited so as to minimise its effect on the amenity of the area; and
(c) solar PV or solar thermal equipment no longer needed for
microgeneration shall be removed as soon as reasonably practicable
Ok, so WHO is going to decide what minimum effect on "external appearance" and "amenity of the area" actually means in any one case? On the one hand, except in the cases of conservation areas and World Heritage Sites, Class A permits the whole house---all its roof and all its walls---to be clad with solar panels and yet these are somehow to be installed with minimum effect on what it looks like! In other words, A.2. directly conflicts with the very paragraph (A) which brings it into consideration in the first place!
And remember, there is NO RIGHT OF APPEAL against a Breach of Condition Notice! (Editor's Note: so much for the government encouraging the uptake of micro' generation......)
Class B Permitted development
B. the installation, alteration or replacement of stand alone solar within
the curtilage of a dwellinghouse.
Development not permitted
B.1. Development is not permitted by Class B if--
(a) it would result in the presence within the curtilage of
more than one stand alone solar;
Although Limitation B.1(a) allows just one 'stand alone solar' a great many gardens will not be able to accommodate ANY at all. See below.
(b) any part of the stand alone solar--
(i) would exceed four metres in height above ground level;
(ii) would, in the case of land within a conservation area or
which is a World Heritage Site, be situated within any part of
the dwellinghouse and would be visible from the highway;
(iii) would be situated within five metres of the boundary of the curtilage;
(iv) would be situated within the curtlage of a listed building;
Comment
PART 40 Class B Permitted development is a largely useless provision for most ordinary homes:
* listed buildings are out, fair enough--they're special and rare
* the four metre height limit is fair enough
* (ii) mentions "the" highway but doesn't say which one
* very few gardens are big (wide) enough for a solar array to be five metres away from any boundary.
Its the 5 metre bit that's the killer, of course. Even if a stand alone solar panel was only a foot square its impossible to be at least 5 metres from ANY boundary of the average garden. Doh!
(c) the surface area of the solar panels forming part of the stand
alone solar would exceed nine square metres or any dimension
of its array (including housing) would exceed three metres
Nine square metres of area is a generous limit. Pity you can't use one square millimetre of the allowance in most UK houses---see previous comment B.1.(b).
To use the full 3 metres in any one dimension would require a garden to be at least 2 x 5 metres PLUS the 3 metres--a total of 13 metres minimum garden width! How many ordinary gardens are at least 13 metres wide?
Conditions
B.2. Development is permitted by Class B subject to the following conditions--
(a) stand alone solar shall, as far as practicable, be sited so
as to minimise its effect on the amenity of the area; and
(b) stand alone solar which is no longer needed for
microgeneration shall be removed as soon as
reasonably practicable.
Since Limitation B.1(b) requires any solar array to be at least 5 metres from ANY boundary, very few gardens---can accommodate stand alone solar anyway. It follows then, that for most of us the Conditions given in B.2 will rarely fall to be considered in the first place.
Class C Permitted development
C. the installation, alteration or replacement of a ground source
heat pump within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse.
Ground source heat pumps are permitted without limitations or conditions. Nice and simple. However, whether the cost-benefit ratio makes these installations worth while is another matter. The heat pumps themselves are rather like large floor standing central heating boilers and would normally be installed inside the house. However, Class C makes it clear that a ground source heat pump can now be installed anywhere within the curtilage---within your garden in practice---in a Class E building, for example. Or ANYWHERE in your FRONT garden and of ANY size or ANY height and on ANY Article 1(5) land.
Class D Permitted development
D. the installation, alteration or replacement of a water source
heat pump within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse.
Water source heat pumps are permitted without limitations or conditions. Also, see our comments in the previous scene (Class C) about ground source heat pumps, which are just as relevant to Class D
Class E Permitted development
E. the installation, alteration or replacement of a flue, forming
part of a biomass heating system, on a dwellinghouse.
Development not permitted
E.1 Development is not permitted by Class E if--
(a) the height of the flue would exceed the
highest part of the roof by one metre
or more;
No flue to be more than 1 metre above the ridge.
(b) in the case of land within a conservation area or which is a World Heritage Site,
the flue would be installed on a wall or roof slope forming the principle or side
elevation of the dwellinghouse and would be visible from a highway.
There are four points to be made in relation to Limitation E.1(b)
1. either the house is in one of the specified areas or its not;
2. unlike the other (householder) PARTS of the GPDO, PART 40 does not exclude all areas within Article 1(5) land, meaning that National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Broads are not excluded by Limitation E.1(b);
3. to be excluded by Limitation E.1(b), its not enough for the flue to merely be ON a "principle or side elevation", it must also be VISIBLE from a highway.
4. Listed buildings are not excluded, but 'Listed Building Consent' is still needed for works to a listed building.
Class F Permitted development
F. the installation, alteration or replacement of a flue, forming part
of a combined heat and power system, on a dwellinghouse.
Development not permitted
F.1 Development is not permitted by Class F if--
(a) the height of the flue would exceed the highest part of the roof by one metre or more
As with "PART 40 E.1(a)", 1m above the ridge is the height limit here.
(b) in the case of land within a conservation area or which is a World Heritage Site,
the flue would be installed on a wall or roof slope forming the principal or side
elevation of the dwellinghouse and would be visible from a highway.
There are four points to be made in relation to Limitation F.1(b)
1. either the house is in one of the specified areas or its not;
2. unlike the other (householder) PARTS of the GPDO, PART 40
does not exclude all areas within Article 1(5) land, meaning that
National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the
Broads are not excluded by Limitation E.1(b);
3. to be excluded by Limitation E.1(b), its not enough for the flue
to merely be ON a "principal or side elevation",
it must also be VISIBLE from a highway.
4. Listed buildings are not excluded, but 'Listed Building Consent'
is still needed for works to a listed building.
Interpretation of Part 40
G.1 For the purposes of Part 40--
"dwellinghouse" includes a building which consists wholly of flats or
which is used for the purposes of a dwellinghouse;
"microgeneration" has the same meaning as in section 82(6)
of the Energy Act 2004;
"solar PV" means solar photovoltaics;
"stand alone solar" means solar PV or solar thermal equipment
which is not installed on a building.
In these interpretations the meaning given to the term "dwellinghouse" is worth a mention: elsewhere in the GPDO the term is defined to EXCLUDE flats. In Part 40, flats are INCLUDED.
