Solar Panel Planning and application on School Roofs and Part 32 GDPO - Public forum - Planning Advisory Service (PAS)

We are a unitary, but yes.

Class A of Part 12 might be available as well, depending on the school

We are a unitary Authority but have worked with a number of schools in regards to this .....pls see attached briefing note that we drafted. Might be worth talking to the Bath Community energy partnership who worked with a number of schools in the authority to put pV on their roofs.. http://www.bathcommunityenergy.co.uk/ Thanks ROland Billington

I am concerned that, while there is logic in the interpretations put forward, there is no control regarding any details of the equipment installed, particuarly its thickness. Part 40 proscribes that solar panels are NOT PD if it protrudes more than 200mm above the plane of the roof slope or wall. This restriction does not apply for other 'Parts' of the GDPO that permit alterations to buildings. We already have the issue of school buildings being widely circulated among authorities across the country and this thread adds warehouses into that mix. I note from the briefing document that Part 42 (retail, catering, offices etc) Class A states that alterations must only be at ground level, but this is by condition and not under the 'Development not permitted' section which means that it could only be enforced as a breach of condition rather than as unauthorised development - more food for thought!

Herefordshire Council considers that Part 32 rights can be extended to solar panel installations and applies the relevant criteria in Class A on a case by case basis. Pragmatically our view is that unless you are in a conservation area or AONB, provided the installation is more than 5 metres from the boundary and does not exceed the highest part of any roof within the school complex it would constitute permitted development We have also stipulated that the primary purpose of the installation must be for the schools energy needs to overcome the incidental requirement in the conditions. I am not convinced that the entirely "blinkers off" approach of using Part 12 is appropriate.

This issue is getting even wider. An enquiry as to whether part 32 applies to Nursing Homes has been made as it was accepted by another authority on the basis that nursing homes and hospitals fall into the same use class. If we extrapolate this further and on the same basis, an unlisted Church could suddenly sprought solar panels as they are in Class D1 along with Schools, Universities etc. My opinion is that the hospitals and nursing homes are sufficiently different. Hospitals are specifically mentioned in the GDPO and, While, they are in the same use class, they are seperately listed under C2 of the Use Class Order.

I do not see the relevance of Part 32 because the way I read it, this part is specifically for the erection of buildings. It does not carry the wider implications of Part 12. I believe Part 12 is more relevant but take note of the definition of 'local authority' provided at the bottom of the page. For the purposes of Part 12, local authority includes a parish or community council. Some schools will therefore not benefit from pd rights in this regard and will continue to require planning permission for the installation of solar panels. Please note that this is my personal view and does not in anyway represent the view of my LPA.

Hi Abel, Don't mean any offence but have a quick look again at the heading for Class A.

Hi Mark There is reference to both operational development, (erection of any building) which should be for 'a purpose incidental to the use' of the school, college, etc. Other than erection of a building, I cannot see any reference to other operations like installation of equipment, etc under this part of the GPDO. Can you please enlighten me on how your LPA has come to equate the installation of solar panels to the erection of a building. Maybe I am missing something. If a developer submitted a certificate of lawfulness application for the proposed installation of solar panels on a school building, I doubt if you could confidently grant it on the basis of deemed permission under Part 32 ?

Hi Mark Sorry I didn't realise I was looking at the 1995 Order. The 2010 Order appears to include any alterations to school buildings and I agree that solar panels could fall within this broad definition.