Planning permission for school solar panels

Why the householder rules don’t apply

Most planning advice about solar panels is written for houses, and it is wrong for a school. Class A of Part 14 of the General Permitted Development Order 2015 covers dwellinghouses. A school is a non-domestic building, so its rooftop solar falls under Class J, which has different limits and, since December 2023, no capacity cap. Several pages on this site cited Class A until October 2026; they have been corrected.

England: the Class J conditions

Two conditions apply to every Class J installation: the panels must be sited, so far as practicable, to minimise their effect on the external appearance of the building and the amenity of the area, and removed as soon as reasonably practicable when no longer needed.

Arrays over 50 kW: the prior-approval step

Class J(c) covers solar PV on a roof that is larger than microgeneration — in practice, most secondary-school arrays. Before work starts, the school or installer must apply to the local planning authority for a determination of whether prior approval is required for the design or external appearance of the development, “in particular the impact of glare on occupiers of neighbouring land”. It is a design check, not a full planning application, and the authority has 56 days to respond. Build it into the programme alongside the G99 grid application.

Conservation areas, National Landscapes and National Parks

In England, roof-mounted panels on a non-listed school building in a conservation area, National Landscape, National Park, the Broads or a World Heritage Site remain permitted development. The only extra restriction on that “article 2(3) land” is on panels fixed to a wall which fronts a highway. Many pages still say otherwise; the current text of the Order does not.

Listed and heritage school buildings

Panels on a listed school, or on a building within its curtilage, are not permitted development, so you need planning permission and Listed Building Consent. Speak to the conservation officer early: less-visible roof slopes, rear elevations and low-profile panels are often acceptable. Our guide to solar on listed and Victorian school buildings covers the process.

Wales

Wales has its own right, in Part 43 Class A of the Welsh General Permitted Development Order (inserted by S.I. 2012/2318 from 5 October 2012). The Welsh Government’s guidance for non-domestic buildings says panels should project no more than 200 mm from the roof or wall surface, no more than 1 m above a flat roof, and no closer than 1 m to the roof edge. In a conservation area or World Heritage Site, panels on principal or side elevation walls visible from the highway need consent; listed buildings need planning permission and Listed Building Consent; scheduled monuments need permission. There is no permitted-development right for a solar car park canopy in Wales — it needs full planning permission.

Scotland

In Scotland, building-mounted solar on non-domestic buildings falls under Class 6J. The Scottish Government’s Planning Circular 2/2024 sets out that no part may protrude more than 1 m from the building surface, and the old 50 kW cap was removed on 24 May 2024. In a conservation area, panels may not go on the principal elevation or a road-facing side elevation. The right does not apply to listed buildings or their curtilage, sites within 3 km of an aerodrome or technical site, National Scenic Areas, historic gardens and designed landscapes, National Parks or World Heritage Sites. Permitted development may still need a building warrant.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has its own permitted development order. Check the position with the council’s planning service before assuming the GB rules apply.

Car park canopies and ground-mounted arrays

In England, Class OA allows a solar canopy over an off-street car park at a non-domestic site, up to 4 m high and not within 10 m of a house’s curtilage or within the curtilage of a listed building — but prior approval on siting, design, appearance and glare is always required, with a 56-day determination period. A stand-alone array on a school field is a different matter: the non-domestic stand-alone right is limited to 9 m², so a field array needs a planning application. In Scotland, car park canopies have their own right under Class 9M; in Wales, as above, they need full planning permission.

Consents that are not planning

• The grid connection — anything over 16 A per phase (3.68 kW per phase) needs a G99 application to the distribution network operator.
• The landowner — the local authority for most maintained schools, the diocese for voluntary aided schools, and for academies, Secretary of State consent for a solar lease, which uses the DfE’s Form E.
• Building control — check with building control where the roof structure is altered or strengthened.

For what each step costs and how long it takes, see the school solar cost guide.