If you are considering installing a form of micro generation at your home first consult your local planning authority to ascertain what approvals may be required. The local authority will be mainly concerned with issues such as visual intrusion, especially if the installation is visible from a highway, and the potential affect on neighbours and loss of amenity. The need for planning consent or other consents will also depend whether your home is a listed building or in a conservation area.
Wind turbines can be particularly problematic in urban locations as they generally need to be positioned high and can cause noise and vibration. The visual intrusion of air source heat pumps and solar panels also need careful consideration.
The permitted development regime [the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (GPDO)] for a number of micro-generation technologies has been revised because the government recognises the contribution that micro-generation can make to the nation’s sustainable energy targets. The Energy Saving Trust suggests that 30-40 per cent of the UK’s electricity demands could be met through the use of these technologies by 2050. Updated planning guidance covering solar panels, biomass, heat pumps and micro CHP can be viewed by following the link below and selecting the relevant technology.
Micro-generation planning guidance
If you are considering installing a form of micro-generation, particularly if your home is a listed building (or within the curtilage of a listed building) or in a conservation area you will need to give careful consideration to the following issues:
- Consider an installation that will not have an adverse effect on the character or special interest of your house. Look for a location that will have minimal visual and physical impact (main elevations should generally be avoided). Think in particular about the likely visual impact on public views of the building. Badly positioned equipment diminishes the special interest of historic buildings.
- Make sure the fixing of the equipment does not result in any significant damage to the building and that the changes are necessitated by the installation are minor and reversible.
- Bear in mind that equipment that becomes redundant will need to be removed and any resulting damage to the site or building made good.
- If the installation is to be free-standing its impact on its setting needs to be carefully considered and ground disturbance kept to a minimum.
Microgeneration in the Historic Environment
This guidance is intended for householders and other building owners who are considering installing microgeneration equipment on their property. It is also aimed at local authority development control and building control staff and their historic environment advisers who are involved with householder planning applications and building control approvals.
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