Do you need planning permission for an Air Source Heat Pump?

Back in 2011 the installation of an Air Source Heat Pump in your home became a permitted development which didn't need an application for planning permission, provided certain conditions are met.

These permitted development rights apply to the installation of an Air Source Heat Pump on a house or block of flats.

These are the limits to be met:

• Development is permitted only if the air source heat pump installation complies with the Microgeneration Certification Scheme Planning Standards (MCS 020) or equivalent standards, we adhere to these standards on every install and are MCS accredited.
• Only the first installation of an air source heat pump would be permitted development, and only if there is no existing wind turbine on a building or within the curtilage of that property. Additional wind turbines or air source heat pumps at the same property requires an application for planning permission
• All of the Air Source Heat Pump must be at least one metre from the property boundary
• Installations on pitched roofs are not permitted development. If installed on a flat roof all parts of the air source heat pump must be at least one metre from the external edge of that roof
• The volume of the Air Source Heat Pump’s outdoor compressor unit (including housing) must not exceed 0.6 cubic metres.
• Installing on land within a Conservation Area or World Heritage Site, the Heat Pump must not be installed on a wall or roof which fronts a highway or be nearer to any highway which bounds the property than any part of the building.
• On land that is not within a Conservation Area or World Heritage Site, the Air Source Heat Pump must not be installed on a wall if that wall fronts a highway and any part of that wall are above the level of the ground storey.

• Used solely for heating purposes
• Removed as soon as reasonably practicable when it is no longer needed for microgeneration
• Sited, so far as is practicable, to minimise its effect on the external appearance of the building and its effect on the amenity of the area.

You may wish to discuss with the Local Planning Authority for your area whether all of these limits and conditions will be met.