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Class C: Microwave antenna on buildings under 15m
Class C of Part 16 can allow a satellite dish or other microwave antenna to be installed, altered or replaced on a building or other structure less than 15 metres high in England. It is a separate right from the rules for a dish on a house.
A building exactly 15 metres high is outside Class C. Check Class B for buildings and structures of 15 metres or more.
Need help with permitted development?
Permitted development can avoid a full planning application, but only if the right applies and every relevant limit and condition is met. Planning Geek can check the planning history, Article 4 directions and other restrictions, and help with a lawful development certificate or prior approval where needed.
Which buildings can use Class C?
Class C excludes a dwellinghouse and structures within a dwellinghouse’s curtilage. For householder installations, see Class H of Part 1. However, Class C is not restricted to commercial buildings: a block of flats is not automatically excluded by its residential use.
Development of a kind described in Class A is excluded, as is driver information system apparatus covered by the statutory definition used in Class D. Identify the correct class before comparing dimensions.
Satellite dish size and number limits
- There must be no more than two antennas on the building or structure after the work
- A single antenna must not exceed 1 metre in length
- Where there are two antennas, only one may exceed 0.6 metres in length and neither may exceed 1 metre
- An antenna on a chimney must not exceed 0.6 metres in length or protrude over the chimney
- No antenna may have a volume exceeding 35 litres
Count the antennas on the whole building or structure, including those already present. The length measurement follows paragraph F, so do not rely solely on the size description in a supplier’s advert.
Roof positions and protected land
For an antenna on a roof without a chimney, its highest part must not be higher than the highest part of the roof. Where the roof has a chimney, the antenna must not exceed the lower of the chimney stack height or a point 0.6 metres above the highest ridge tiles.
On article 2(3) land, installation is excluded on a chimney, wall or roof slope which faces onto, and is visible from, a highway. In the Broads, an equivalent restriction applies where the feature faces onto, and is visible from, a waterway.
Siting, removal and the planning route
The antenna must be sited, so far as practicable, to minimise its effect on the building or structure’s external appearance. An antenna no longer needed for reception or transmission must be removed as soon as reasonably practicable.
Class C has no prior approval procedure. It still requires compliance with its limits, conditions and the general GPDO rules, including any applicable restriction on the property. Where a planning application is needed, check the current planning application fees.
Relevant legislation for satellite dish
The current statutory wording is set out below. Check the Changes to Legislation information on legislation.gov.uk for any outstanding amendments. The summary above does not replace the limits and conditions in the legislation.
Read the full Class C legislation
Permitted development
C. The installation, alteration or replacement on any building or other structure of a height of less than 15 metres of a microwave antenna.
Development not permitted
C.1 Development is not permitted by Class C if—
(a) the building is a dwellinghouse or other structure within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse;
(b) it would consist of development of a kind described in Class A of this Part;
(c) it would consist of the installation, alteration or replacement of system apparatus within the meaning of section 8(6) of the Road Traffic (Driver Licensing and Information Systems) Act 1989 (definitions of driver information systems etc);
(d) it would result in the presence on the building or structure of—
(i) more than 2 antennas;
(ii) a single antenna exceeding 1 metre in length;
(iii) 2 antennas which do not meet the relevant size criteria;
(iv) an antenna installed on a chimney, where the length of the antenna would exceed 0.6 metres;
(v) an antenna installed on a chimney, where the antenna would protrude over the chimney;
(vi) an antenna with a cubic capacity in excess of 35 litres;
(e) in the case of an antenna to be installed on a roof without a chimney, the highest part of the antenna would be higher than the highest part of the roof;
(f) in the case of an antenna to be installed on a roof with a chimney, the highest part of the antenna would be higher than the highest part of the chimney stack, or 0.6 metres measured from the highest part of the ridge tiles of the roof, whichever is the lowest; or
(g) in the case of article 2(3) land, it would consist of the installation of an antenna—
(i) on a chimney, wall or roof slope which faces onto, and is visible from, a highway;
(ii) in the Broads, on a chimney, wall or roof slope which faces onto, and is visible from, a waterway.
Condition
C.2 Development is permitted by Class C subject to the following conditions—
(a) the antenna is, so far as practicable, sited so as to minimise its effect on the external appearance of the building or structure on which it is installed; and
(b) an antenna no longer needed for reception or transmission purposes is removed from the building or structure as soon as reasonably practicable.
Interpretation of Class C
C.3 The relevant size criteria for the purposes of paragraph C.1(d)(iii) are that:
(a) only 1 of the antennas may exceed 0.6 metres in length; and
(b) any antenna which exceeds 0.6 metres in length must not exceed 1 metre in length.
Satellite Dish Page Updated: 18th September 2026