← All guides · Solar & heritage · Updated October 2026

Solar panels in Broadstairs conservation areas and on listed homes: when you need planning permission.

Rooftop solar is a good idea on many Broadstairs homes. Whether it needs planning permission depends on where the panels go and whether the building is listed or in a conservation area. The rules changed on 27 August 2026, so older advice may be out of date.

This guide covers the questions Broadstairs owners ask us most: what is permitted development, what is not, how a conservation area or a listing changes the answer, and what happens after you say yes. For prices and payback, see our solar and battery page.

Conservation areas in Broadstairs

Parts of central Broadstairs and St Peter's are conservation areas, and Thanet District Council decides planning applications there. Check your address on the Thanet District Council planning map before you order anything. If you are inside a conservation area, some of the permitted development rules below are stricter.

Permitted development for solar: the default rule

Most solar panels on a house or a block of flats are permitted development, which means no planning application. The Government changed the rules (Statutory Instrument 2026/896, in force 27 August 2026), and the main points are:

• Panels on a pitched roof may stick out no more than 0.2 metres beyond the roof slope.
• Panels on a flat roof may rise no more than 0.6 metres above the highest point of the roof.
• Panels on a wall may stick out no more than 0.2 metres where the wall touches the highway, and 0.4 metres otherwise.
• In a conservation area or World Heritage Site, equipment on a wall, balcony or roof enclosure that faces a highway is not permitted development, so it needs planning permission.
• On a listed house or listed block of flats, or a building within its grounds, solar is not permitted development. You need planning permission and, where it applies, listed building consent.
• Ground-mounted panels have their own limits, including a 9 square metre maximum, and a conservation area adds prior approval on appearance if they sit nearer the road than the house.

In practice, panels on an ordinary roof slope are not restricted just because the house is in a conservation area. A street-facing wall, or any listed building, is where you need to stop and check. Work that was already permitted under the old rules can continue until the end of 26 August 2027.

Listed homes

If your home is listed, solar is not permitted development, so plan for a planning application and ask the council whether listed building consent is needed as well. Thanet District Council's planning team is the place to start. An early chat with the council before you choose panels can save weeks.

Telling the network operator

Separate from planning, the network operator needs to know about your solar. In Kent that is South Eastern Power Networks, part of UK Power Networks. We tell the network operator, and larger systems need their approval before work starts, so that paperwork begins early.

MCS and getting paid for what you export

All solar installs are MCS-certified, with the certificate issued on completion. An MCS-certified install lets you apply for the Smart Export Guarantee, where energy suppliers pay you for power you send back to the grid. Suppliers set their own rates, which must always be above zero, and we support your Smart Export Guarantee registration. Octopus Energy lists 12p per kWh for Outgoing Octopus as of October 2026.

The order of operations for a Broadstairs solar job

1. Check your address on the Thanet District Council planning map: conservation area, listed status, and which walls face the road.
2. Survey the roof: direction, shade and structure.
3. Ask the council first if you are in a conservation area and want panels on a wall facing the road, or if the building is listed.
4. Get a clear quote with the price, the size and the saving.
5. Install, MCS-certified, usually in one to two days for solar.
6. We tell the network operator, and you get your MCS certificate on completion.
7. Register for the Smart Export Guarantee with your supplier, with our support.

Batteries

A battery stores spare daytime power for the evening. It is often about comfort and flexibility more than saving, and solar on its own is usually the better value. Batteries want a cool, dry, ventilated space such as a garage or utility room, not a hot loft. The electrical side, including the consumer unit check, is covered on our solar and battery page, along with the price ranges.

Sources: SI 2026/896 (amends the General Permitted Development Order, Schedule 2 Part 14 Classes A and B); Planning Portal, solar panels; Ofgem Smart Export Guarantee; Octopus Outgoing. Last reviewed 12 October 2026.