Conservation areas and listed buildings
Can you fit solar panels or a heat pump to a listed building or a house in a conservation area?
Short answer
In a conservation area, a house keeps most of its permitted development rights for solar panels and air source heat pumps under Part 14 of the General Permitted Development Order 2015. The main extra limits are that nothing may go on a wall (or, for heat pumps, a roof) that fronts a highway, a heat pump may not sit nearer the highway than the house, and panels on a flat roof need an application to the council for prior approval of their appearance.
On a listed house, permitted development for solar panels and air source heat pumps does not apply, on the house or anywhere in its curtilage. Since 27 August 2026 that includes panels on the house itself; before, only its curtilage was excluded. So solar panels or an air source heat pump need planning permission, and listed building consent wherever the installation would affect the building's character. Solar work that was permitted development under the old rules can still be carried out until the end of 26 August 2027.
Side by side
| Installation | House in a conservation area | Listed house |
|---|---|---|
| Solar panels on a pitched roof | Permitted if no more than 0.2 m proud and no higher than the highest part of the roof, chimneys aside (A.1(2)(c)) | Not permitted development from 27 August 2026 (A.1(2)(g)), subject to the transitional period to 26 August 2027 |
| Solar panels on a flat roof | Permitted up to 0.6 m above the roof (A.1(2)(d)), after an application for prior approval of appearance (A.2(ba)): fee £249 | Not permitted development |
| Solar panels on a wall, balcony or roof enclosure | Not permitted where it fronts a highway (A.1(2)(e)); elsewhere up to 0.4 m proud, or 0.2 m where the wall abuts a highway (A.1(2)(a) and (b)) | Not permitted development |
| Solar panels on a garage or outbuilding | As for the house | Not permitted development (excluded before and after August 2026) |
| Free-standing solar in the garden | Up to 9 square metres of panels; no higher than 4 m, or 2 m if nearer a highway than the house or within 5 m of the boundary (1 m if within 5 m of the boundary and forward of the front wall); a prior approval application if nearer a highway than the house or within 5 m of the boundary (B.1(2), B.2(aa)) | Not permitted development within the curtilage (B.1(2)(b)(ii)) |
| Air source heat pump | Permitted if it meets the MCS Planning Standards, is not on a wall or roof fronting a highway, and is no nearer the highway than the house (G.1, G.2(j)) | Not permitted development on the building or within its curtilage (G.2(i)) |
| Ground source heat pump | Permitted (Class C has no limits of its own) | Class C has no listed building exclusion; the work to the house may still need listed building consent |
All the conservation area limits also apply in a World Heritage Site, with stricter rules for free-standing solar. The prior approval requirements for flat roofs and near boundaries apply on all article 2(3) land, including national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty.
The August 2026 change for listed houses
(2) Development is not permitted by Class A on a dwellinghouse, or a building within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse, if: [...] (g) the solar PV or solar thermal equipment would be installed on a dwellinghouse, or on a building within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse, if the dwellinghouse is a listed building;
Until 26 August 2026 the Order excluded panels on buildings in the curtilage of a listed house, but not on the house itself. Rooftop panels on a listed house could be permitted development for planning, though they still needed listed building consent if they affected its character. Article 6 of SI 2026/896 lets development that was permitted before 27 August 2026, and is not permitted now, be carried out until the end of 26 August 2027. After that, a planning application is needed as well as consent.
Listed building consent
Consent is needed for any alteration that would affect the character of a listed building as a building of special architectural or historic interest (section 7 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990). For solar panels and heat pumps the questions are usually where the equipment goes, what is fixed to or cut into historic fabric, and the route of pipes and cables. There is no fee for consent. See listed building consent.
National policy now gives these measures weight. Policy HE6 of the National Planning Policy Framework published on 17 August 2026 lists "enabling energy efficiency and low carbon heating measures to be employed" among the public benefits to be weighed against any harm to a designated heritage asset.
Historic England's guidance
Read them in full before you design:
- Adapting Historic Buildings for Energy and Carbon Efficiency: Advice Note 18, revised February 2026, which covers the permissions needed for common energy measures.
- Installing solar panels.
- Installing heat pumps in historic buildings.
Building Regulations
The energy efficiency requirements of the Building Regulations do not apply to a listed building, or a building in a conservation area, where compliance "would unacceptably alter their character or appearance" (regulation 21(3)(a) of the Building Regulations 2010). Other requirements, such as electrical safety, still apply.
What this means for you
Confirm the status of the house first: the planning constraints checker shows conservation areas and listing. For a house that is not listed, the question pages on solar panels and heat pumps set out the full limits. For a listed house, plan for a planning application and a consent application together, with drawings that show fixings and service routes.
Sources
- GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 14 (renewable energy) legislation.gov.uk
- SI 2026/896, articles 3, 4 and 6 (solar amendments and transitional provision) legislation.gov.uk
- SI 2025/560 (air source heat pump amendments) legislation.gov.uk
- Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 7 legislation.gov.uk
- Building Regulations 2010, regulation 21 legislation.gov.uk
- National Planning Policy Framework, August 2026, policy HE6 gov.uk
- Historic England: Advice Note 18 historicengland.org.uk
- Planning Portal: application fees in England from 1 April 2026 planningportal.co.uk