New planning legislation: permitted development for microgeneration and vehicle charging points

A new piece of planning legislation is due to come into force in England on 1 October 2011 which will update "permitted development".

Permitted development rights mean that there will be no need for a planning permission application.

The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendments) (England) Order 2011 (No. 2056) ("the PD Amendment Order") creates permitted development rights to:

• install, alter or replace electric vehicle charging points in off-street car parks; and
• erect, construct and maintain, improve or alter vehicle charging points and associated infrastructure (for local authorities)

From 1 December 2011 the PD Amendment Order will also allow the installation of certain microgeneration equipment onto buildings or within a building's curtilage. It divides the microgeneration equipment up into three new classes and introduces permitted development rights to:

• install, alter or replace an air source heat pump (Class G);
• install a wind turbine mounted on a building (Class H); and
• install a stand alone wind turbine (Class I).

The rights to fix wind turbines to buildings apply only to equipment installed on a detached dwelling house or to a detached building within the curtilage of a dwelling house or block of flats. There will be strict limitations and conditions imposed on these rights, including a maximum noise limit.

The Michelmores Planning and Environment Team have experience of providing legal advice on a range of renewable projects, large and small.  The team have advised on projects across a range of technologies including solar PV, wind, hydro, anaerobic digestion, CHP and district heating.

Michelmores has a dedicated Energy & Renewables Group which contains lawyers drawn from across the firm, including the Planning and Environment Team.  We provide specialist advice based on the specific challenges and requirements of this industry sector.
The PD Amendment Order can be seen here

Mark Howard is an Associate in the Michelmores Planning and Environment team. For further information on the issues raised in this article, please contact Mark at mark.howard@michelmores.com