Rules
Solar planning rules changed on 27 August: what Broadstairs roofs should check
The Planning Portal, which runs the national planning application service, published a note on 28 August 2026 about the new permitted development rules for domestic solar. It says the changes were published by Government at the end of July and came into force on 27 August 2026. They split the rules into separate ones for houses and for blocks of flats, and the Planning Portal says houses gain the potential for larger installations in a wider range of locations on buildings or within the property boundary.
Two details matter for anyone thinking about plug-in solar. The Planning Portal says the changes clarify that plug-in solar, meaning a kit that connects through a standard plug socket, can be installed under these rights, but they block it from being installed on wooden structures or cladding, to reduce fire risk. There is also a 12-month transition. A project that would no longer qualify under the new rules can still use the old ones until 26 August 2027.
The Planning Portal's guidance page for a house roof adds the conditions that stay in place. On a pitched roof, panels should not rise above the highest part of the roof, excluding the chimney, and should project no more than 200mm from the slope. In a conservation area or World Heritage Site, panels must not be fitted to a wall, balcony or roof enclosure that fronts a highway. Panels must not go on a building within the grounds of a listed building. Equipment should be sited, so far as is practicable, to minimise the effect on the building's appearance and the amenity of the area, and removed as soon as reasonably practicable when no longer needed.
Our reading for Broadstairs, and it is our reading, not advice: the national wall rule does not by itself stop a panel on a roof slope that faces the road. Thanet District Council's own guidance is stricter. It tells owners of houses that are not listed or flats, inside a conservation area, to keep panels no more than 0.2 metres above the roof slope, not past the highest part of the roof, and off the front facing the highway, so a side or rear slope. The council's list names Broadstairs, Kingsgate, Reading Street and St Peter's among its 27 conservation areas, so check your own address on its map.
For a flat the picture is different again. The Planning Portal says flats now have their own rules, and the council says flats lack some permitted development rights. If you live in a converted building near the bays, ask the freeholder first and check the flat rules before you spend anything. A plug-in kit or a battery inside the flat may be an easier route, and our planning guide and plug-in solar page set out both.
The Planning Portal also says it will update its online prior approval forms for domestic solar on 17 September 2026. Anyone who started a draft application before then is told to review the eligibility section.
Read the original: Planning Portal Blog: changes to permitted development rules for domestic solar installations. Figures come from that page. Where we do our own sums we say so. Commentary is our own view, not advice.
Want numbers for your own home? Try the estimator or ask for a free quote.