Part 14: Renewable energy

Part 14 of the English GPDO sets out separate permitted development rights for domestic and non-domestic solar equipment, heat pumps, wind turbines and certain flues. Each Class has its own siting, size, heritage and prior approval rules. A renewable-energy proposal is not automatically permitted.

Domestic solar Class A and Class B changed on 27th August 2026. Transitional protection until the end of 26th August 2027 applies only to development permitted immediately before that amendment which lost its right because of it. Read the relevant Class with paragraph P’s definitions. Wales has separate permitted development rules. Read the current Part 14 legislation and 2026 amending Order.

The various Classes within Part 14 for the installation or alteration of renewable energy are broken down into residential and commercial locations and are as follows:

Class A: Solar equipment on domestic premises

Class B: Stand-alone solar equipment on domestic premises

Class C: Ground source heat pumps on domestic premises

Class D: Water source heat pumps on domestic premises

Class E: Flue for biomass heating system on domestic premises

Class F: Flue for combined heat and power on domestic premises

Class G: Air source heat pumps on domestic premises

Class H: Wind turbine on domestic premises

Class I: Stand-alone wind turbine on domestic premises

Class J: Solar equipment on commercial premises

Class K: Stand-alone solar equipment on commercial premises

Class L: Ground source heat pump on commercial premises

Class M: Water source heat pump on commercial premises

Class N: Flue for biomass heating system on commercial premises

Class O: Flue for combined heat and power on commercial premises

Class OA: Solar canopy in off-street commercial car parks

Paragraph P: Definitions of words and phrases used in Part 14

What changed for renewable energy on 27th August 2026

On 27th August 2026 the solar rules in Part 14 changed in England. Nothing else in this Part was affected, so heat pumps, wind turbines and flues continue under their existing rules. Our 27th August 2026 plug-in solar planning update explains the changes and the separate 800W plug-in regime.

The change split the solar rules in two. Blocks of flats retained wording close to the previous rules, while dwellinghouses received a new set of their own which is, on the whole, more generous.

Panels fixed to a wall of a house can now project by up to 0.4 metres, instead of 0.2 metres. The tighter 0.2 metre limit remains where the wall abuts a highway. Balconies and roof enclosures are now expressly covered. In a conservation area or a World Heritage Site, Class A does not permit panels on a wall, balcony or roof enclosure that fronts a highway. The listed-building restriction is also tighter: it now catches the listed dwellinghouse itself as well as buildings within its curtilage.

For panels standing on the ground in the garden, a table of height limits replaces the old flat ban on anything within 5 metres of the boundary, and there is a new case where you have to ask the council before you start.

Plug-in solar, the sort you connect with an ordinary plug and socket, is now expressly included within the meaning of solar PV. That means it picks up the same rights, and the same limits, as other solar PV under Part 14. Our 27th August 2026 plug-in solar update explains the planning and separate electrical changes in one place.

The detail sits on the Class pages: Class A for panels on the building, Class B for panels standing in the garden, and Paragraph P for what the words mean. For a plain guide to the whole subject, see solar panels.

If something you can do under the old wording is taken away by the new wording, you are not caught out on the day it changes. You can still carry it out up to the end of 26th August 2027.

What it costs, and what to do if the council says no

If your work really is permitted development, you do not put in a planning application, so there is no planning fee to pay.

Two things here do cost money. Some of these rights only apply if you ask the council first, and that request carries a fee. Separately, if you want something in writing to prove the work was lawful, a certificate of lawfulness has a fee of its own. Fees change, so we do not print figures on this page: see our guide to planning fees.

If the council turns down your request, or refuses a certificate, you can appeal. The deadline depends on what you applied for, so check yours before you do anything else: see our guide to planning appeals.

Explore GPDO Part 14

Renewable energy page updated: 24th September 2026