Kensington & Chelsea has become the first council in the UK to allow solar panels to be installed on listed homes without planning permission.
The central London borough has relaxed its laws in a bid to encourage owners of its 4,000 listed buildings to install renewable technology and help slash its carbon emissions.
Its new planning order — the first of its kind — means owners of Grade II and most II* listed homes in the borough will no longer have to apply for listed building consent to add solar equipment.
Demand is growing for alternative energy options amid cost of living increases and dramatic hikes in heating bills for households across the UK.
The order covers various kinds of equipment, including solar tiles or slates, or solar thermal panels. It brings listed homes in line with regular domestic homes, where planning permission is already not required.
The order sets out conditions about the positioning, materials and fixings that can be used in order to protect the appearance and fabric of listed buildings, with the council saying this will “just need a simple application”.
Getting listed building consent is one of the major barriers when upgrading historic homes, according to architect Ben Ridley, director at Holborn-based practice Architecture for London. Ridley recently secured permission to refurbish a Grade-II listed house in the heart of Chelsea’s Royal Hospital conservation area.
The 18th century house on Smith Street, once home to Mary Poppins author PL Travers, will now have solar panels added to its flat roof to improve its energy efficiency.
Ridley welcomed Kensington & Chelsea’s policy, adding that clarity around the issue is really helpful. “We try and reduce energy demand as much as possible when we refurbish a building but gaining listed buiidng consent has always been an issue. Usually there are concerns over how solar equipment will look from the road or whether it will damage the building’s original fabric or roof tiles.”
Owners of non-residential listed buildings will still need to submit a planning application for listed building consent.
The Tabernacle Community Centre, which runs Notting Hill Carnival, recently managed to get permission from Kensington & Chelsea to install solar panels on the roof of its Grade-II listed building in Powis Square.
The project is being run by Repowering London, a social enterprise that empowers communities to fund, install and manage their own renewable energy. It has already installed the technology on the Dalgarno Community Centre in North Kensington.
‘We’re putting a solar array on the roof worth £50,000 and we have funding from the council to do an energy audit on the building’, explains programme manager Dave Fuller, adding the project could save the centre thousands on heating bills.
Fuller said Kensington & Chelsea council were supportive, but that the advice differed across different authorities, and more national guidance was needed on how to adapt historic buildings.
The new planning order has also been welcomed by the Historic Houses, which represents owners of historic homes and gardens across the UK.
Director general Ben Cowell said: “Many listed properties consume vast amounts of energy, and owners are constantly searching for ways in which they can make their homes more energy efficient – both to save money and to work towards net zero goals and environmental sustainability.”
Johnny Thalassites, Kensington & Chelsea’s lead member for planning, place and environment, said while protecting the borough’s beautiful buildings was important, solar panels can be installed without being visible at street level.
He added: “We need to be innovative to tackle the climate emergency and I’m proud that we’re the first council to introduce a planning order to make solar power a realistic choice for more people.
“Removing barriers to green energy is vital because 80 per cent of the borough’s carbon emissions come from buildings. With 4,000 listed buildings in Kensington and Chelsea, we’ll need more of these homes and businesses running on renewables if we are going to be carbon neutral by 2040.”
