http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/896/madeThe Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2026enKing's Printer of Acts of Parliament2026-07-30TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING, ENGLAND This Order amends the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/596) (“the GPDO”). The GPDO provides, for the purposes of section 59 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (c. 8), for the grant of planning permission for certain classes of development without the requirement for a planning application to be made under Part 3 of that Act. The classes of permission, together with their accompanying conditions, limitations and restrictions, are set out in Schedule 2 to the GPDO. 2026 No. 896 TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING, ENGLAND The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2026 Made 29th July 2026 Laid before Parliament 30th July 2026 Coming into force 27th August 2026 The Secretary of State makes this Order in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 59, 60, 61 (1) and 333 (7) and (8) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Citation, commencement, extent and interpretation 1 1 This Order may be cited as the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2026. 2 This Order comes into force on 27th August 2026. 3 This Order extends to England and Wales. 4 In this Order, “the GPDO” means the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015. Amendment of Part 14 of Schedule 2 to the GPDO (permitted development rights: renewable energy) 2 Part 14 of Schedule 2 to the GPDO is amended in accordance with articles 3 to 5. Amendment of Class A (installation or alteration etc of solar equipment on domestic premises) 3 In Class A, in paragraph A.1 (development not permitted)— a for the words before sub-paragraph (a), substitute— Development not permitted: block of flats 1 Development is not permitted by Class A on a block of flats, or a building within the curtilage of a block of flats, if— ; b after sub-paragraph (d), omit the “or”; c for sub-paragraph (e), substitute— e the solar PV or solar thermal equipment would be installed on a block of flats, or on a building within the curtilage of a block of flats, if the block of flats is a listed building; or ; d after sub-paragraph (e), insert— f in the case of plug-in solar, where any part of the plug-in solar would be installed on a wooden wall, balcony or enclosure or on any part of the exterior of a block of flats which is clad in timber. ; e after sub-paragraph (f), insert— Development not permitted: dwellinghouse 2 Development is not permitted by Class A on a dwellinghouse, or a building within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse, if— a in the case of solar PV or solar thermal equipment on a wall, it would result in— i where the wall abuts on a highway, the solar PV or solar thermal equipment protruding more than 0.2 metres beyond the plane of the wall when measured from the perpendicular with the external surface of that wall; or ii in any other case, the solar PV or solar thermal equipment protruding more than 0.4 metres beyond the plane of the wall when measured from the perpendicular with the external surface of that wall; b in the case of solar PV or solar thermal equipment on a balcony enclosure or roof enclosure, it would result in— i where the enclosure abuts on a highway, the solar PV or solar thermal equipment protruding more than 0.2 metres beyond the enclosure when measured from the perpendicular with the external surface of that enclosure; or ii in any other case, the solar PV or solar thermal equipment protruding more than 0.4 metres beyond the enclosure when measured from the perpendicular with the external surface of that enclosure; c in the case of solar PV or solar thermal equipment on a pitched roof, it would result in either or both of— i the solar PV or solar thermal equipment protruding more than 0.2 metres beyond the roof slope when measured from the perpendicular with the external surface of the pitched roof slope; ii the highest part of the solar PV or solar thermal equipment being higher than the highest part of the roof (excluding any chimney); d in the case of solar PV or solar thermal equipment on a flat roof, it would result in the highest part of the solar PV or solar thermal equipment being more than 0.6 metres higher than the highest part of the roof (excluding any chimney); e in the case of land within a conservation area or which is a World Heritage Site, the solar PV or solar thermal equipment would be installed on a wall, balcony or roof enclosure which fronts a highway; f the solar PV or solar thermal equipment would be installed on a site designated as a scheduled monument; 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; or h in the case of plug-in solar, where any part of the plug-in solar would be installed on a wooden wall, balcony or enclosure or on any part of the exterior of a dwellinghouse where that part is clad in timber. Amendment of Class B (installation or alteration etc of stand-alone solar equipment on domestic premises) 4 1 In Class B, in paragraph B.1 (development not permitted)— a for the words before sub-paragraph (a), substitute— Development not permitted: block of flats 1 Development is not permitted by Class B within the curtilage of a block of flats if— ; b in sub-paragraph (b)— i in paragraphs (i) and (ii), omit “dwellinghouse or” in both places those words occur; ii after paragraph (v), omit the “or”; c at the end of sub-paragraph (c), for the “.” substitute “; or”; d after sub-paragraph (c), insert— d in the case of plug-in solar, any part of the plug-in solar would be installed on a wooden fence, gate, wall or other means of enclosure. ; e after sub-paragraph (d), insert— Development not permitted: dwellinghouse 2 Development is not permitted by Class B within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse if— a the height of any part of the stand-alone solar when measured from the surface of the ground would, after the carrying out of the development, exceed the lowest applicable height limit in the table—
Circumstances where limit appliesHeight limit
(i) Any part of the stand-alone solar would be installed— within 5 metres of the boundary of the curtilage; and so that it is situated on land forward of a wall forming part of the principal elevation of the dwellinghouse. 1 metre.
(ii)Any part of the stand-alone solar would be installed within 5 metres of the boundary of the curtilage.2 metres.
(iii) Any part of the stand-alone solar would be installed— on land in a conservation area; and so that it is nearer to any highway which bounds the curtilage than the part of the dwellinghouse which is nearest to that highway. 2 metres.
(iv)In any other case.4 metres.
b any part of the stand-alone solar— i would, in the case of land which is a World Heritage Site— aa be installed so that it is nearer to any highway which bounds the curtilage than the part of the dwellinghouse which is nearest to that highway; or bb be installed within 5 metres of the boundary of the curtilage; ii would be installed within the curtilage of a listed building; or iii would be installed on a site designated as a scheduled monument; c the surface area of the solar panels forming part of the stand-alone solar would exceed 9 square metres; or d in the case of plug-in solar, any part of the plug-in solar would be installed on a wooden fence, gate, wall or other means of enclosure. ; 2 In Class B, in paragraph B.2, for sub-paragraph (aa), substitute— aa where either or both of the following criteria are met— i any part of the stand-alone solar would be installed in a conservation area and nearer to any highway which bounds the curtilage than the part of the dwellinghouse or block of flats which is nearest that highway; ii any part of the stand-alone solar would be installed on article 2(3) land and within 5 metres of the boundary of the curtilage, before beginning development the developer must apply to the local planning authority for a determination as to whether the prior approval of the local planning authority will be required with respect to the impact of the appearance of the stand-alone solar on that conservation area or that article 2(3) land, or both, as the case may be; . Amendment of paragraph P (interpretation of Part 14) 5 In paragraph P— a after the definition of “microgeneration”, insert the following definitions— “plug-in solar” means solar photovoltaics that are intended for connection to the relevant domestic premises’ electricity installation by means of a standard plug and socket; “roof enclosure” includes any balustrade, railing, parapet or other enclosure installed on the roof of a building; ; b in the definition of “solar PV”, after “photovoltaics” insert “including plug-in solar”; c after the definition of “stand-alone wind turbine”, omit the “and”; d after the definition of “stand-alone wind turbine”, insert the following definition— “standard plug” and “socket” have the same meaning as in the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994; and . Transitional provision 6 1 Paragraph (2) applies where development (“previously permitted development”)— a is permitted under Class A or Class B of Part 14 of Schedule 2 to the GPDO immediately before 27th August 2026, and b is, by virtue of the amendments made by this Order, no longer permitted under that Class on and after 27th August 2026. 2 Where this paragraph applies, a developer may, despite the amendments made by this Order, carry out previously permitted development until the end of 26th August 2027. Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Florence Eshalomi Minister of State Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government 29th July 2026 Explanatory Note (This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/596) (“the GPDO”). The GPDO provides, for the purposes of section 59 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (c. 8), for the grant of planning permission for certain classes of development without the requirement for a planning application to be made under Part 3 of that Act. The classes of permission, together with their accompanying conditions, limitations and restrictions, are set out in Schedule 2 to the GPDO.

Article 3 amends Class A (installation or alteration etc of solar equipment on domestic premises) of Part 14 (renewable energy) of Schedule 2 (permitted development rights) to the GPDO to separate out the relevant limitations that apply to development on a dwellinghouse and development on a block of flats. Article 3 also introduces new limitations that apply to the installation or alteration etc of solar equipment.

Article 4 amends Class B (installation or alteration etc of stand-alone solar equipment on domestic premises) of Part 14 of Schedule 2 to the GPDO to separate out the relevant limitations that apply to development on a dwellinghouse and development on a block of flats. Article 4 also introduces new limitations that apply to the installation or alteration etc of stand-alone solar equipment and inserts a new requirement for prior approval in respect of stand-alone solar that is installed both within article 2(3) land and within 5 metres of the boundary of the curtilage.

Article 5 inserts definitions of “plug-in solar”, “roof enclosure”, “standard plug” and “socket” into paragraph P (interpretation) of Part 14 of Schedule 2 to the GPDO and amends the existing definition of “solar PV” to include plug-in solar.

Article 6 makes transitional provision in relation to the amendments made by this Order.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this Order as no, or no significant, impact on the private sector, voluntary sector or public sector is foreseen. An explanatory memorandum is published alongside this instrument at www.legislation.gov.uk.

1990 c. 8. Section 59 was amended by paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 to the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 (c. 27) and paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 and paragraph 5 of Schedule 7 to the Planning (Wales) Act 2015 (anaw 4). Section 60 was amended by section 4 (1) of the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013 (c. 27) and section 152 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (c. 22). Section 333(8) was inserted by section 130 (1) (b) of the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (c. 55). S.I. 2015/596 amended by S.I. 2023/1279; there are other amending instruments but none is relevant. S.I. 1994/1768.