Solar Carport Planning Permission UK

Do you need planning permission for a solar carport?

For a business, public or charity car park in England, the starting point is Class OA of Part 14 of Schedule 2 to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015. It was inserted by S.I. 2023/1279 and came into force on 21 December 2023. It permits "the installation, alteration or replacement of a solar canopy within an area lawfully used as off-street parking other than for a dwellinghouse or a block of flats". The government's response to its 2023 consultation describes it as a right for solar canopies in ground-level off-street car parks in non-domestic settings.

A solar canopy in the Order is a canopy structure installed with solar PV or solar thermal equipment that is open on all sides — or on three sides where it adjoins a building. A solar carport built against the side of an office, for example, can qualify; one enclosed on two or more sides cannot.

Much of the older advice online, including earlier versions of pages on this site, points to Class A (solar on domestic premises), Class J (solar on non-domestic buildings) or Class K (stand-alone solar next to a non-domestic building). None of those is the car park canopy right. Class K in particular is often misapplied: its limits — panels of no more than 9 square metres, no higher than 4 metres and not within 5 metres of the curtilage boundary — would rule out almost any real carport.

The Class OA limits

Development is not permitted by Class OA if any part of the canopy:

exceeds 4 metres in height above ground level;

is within 10 metres of the curtilage of a dwellinghouse or a block of flats — or inside that curtilage;

is on a site designated as a scheduled monument, or on land within its curtilage;

is within the curtilage of a listed building;

is used to display an advertisement;

sits on a car park that is only operating under the temporary use of land right (Part 4, Class B).

Three practical points follow. Height is the constraint designers hit first: vehicle clearance plus structure depth plus panel tilt has to stay under 4 metres at the highest point, which is why taller designs for vans, coaches and HGVs usually need a full application. The 10-metre rule is measured to the curtilage of a house or block of flats, not to the building, so a car park backing onto gardens can lose the right along its boundary rows even where the rest of the car park qualifies. And there is no generating-capacity limit in the Class OA text, nor an exclusion zone around aerodromes of the kind Scotland uses.

The government's own description is of ground-level car parks; whether a canopy on the upper deck of a multi-storey car park falls within Class OA is not addressed in the Order, so confirm it with the local planning authority before relying on it.

Prior approval: what the council assesses

Class OA is not a "just build it" right. Before starting, the developer must apply to the local planning authority for a determination as to whether prior approval will be required for:

the solar canopy's siting, design and external appearance, in particular the impact of glare; and
on article 2(3) land — conservation areas, areas of outstanding natural beauty (National Landscapes), the Broads, National Parks and World Heritage Sites — the impact of the canopy's appearance on that land.

Those designated areas are therefore not excluded in England. The government considered excluding them in 2023 and instead added appearance as a matter for prior approval. The exclusions that do apply are the listed building curtilage and scheduled monument tests above.

When deciding, the authority must have regard to the National Planning Policy Framework. The current Framework, published on 17 August 2026, is supportive: policy W3 says substantial weight should be given to the energy security, economic and net zero benefits of renewable and low-carbon energy proposals, and that applicants should not be required to demonstrate the need for them. Policy CC2 gives substantial weight to the benefits of drawing energy from renewable sources, including solar panels that do not already benefit from permitted development rights. On the other side of the balance, policy HE5 recognises that development within the setting of a heritage asset can harm its significance — relevant where a car park sits beside a listed building without being inside its curtilage.

How the prior approval process runs

1. Check the site against Class OA. Measure the canopy's highest point, the distance to any house or flat curtilage, and whether any part of the car park is within a listed building's curtilage or a scheduled monument.
2. Check what can switch the right off. An article 4 direction can remove permitted development rights in a named area, and permitted development never overrides a condition on an existing planning permission for the site. Permitted development also does not extend to Schedule 2 environmental impact assessment development unless it has been screened out; "industrial installations for the production of electricity" are Schedule 2 development where the area of the development exceeds 0.5 hectare, and whether a large canopy scheme falls within that description is a matter for the council's screening.
3. Submit the application with enough information. The authority may refuse where the proposal does not comply with Class OA or where the developer has provided insufficient information to decide — so drawings of siting and design, and evidence on glare, belong in the first submission.
4. Publicity. The authority publicises the application by a site notice displayed for at least 21 days, or by serving notice on adjoining owners or occupiers.
5. The 56-day clock. If the authority has not notified you within 56 days of receiving the application whether prior approval is given or refused, the development may begin.
6. Build and maintain within the conditions. The canopy must be completed within 3 years. Where it is built over a permeable surface, run-off must be directed to a permeable or porous area within the car park. When the canopy is no longer needed, it must be removed as soon as reasonably practicable and the land restored.

When a solar carport needs a full planning application

A full application is the route where the canopy fails any Class OA limit — above 4 metres, within 10 metres of a house or flat curtilage, within a listed building's curtilage, on a scheduled monument, carrying advertising — or where an article 4 direction, an existing condition or an environmental impact assessment requirement takes the scheme outside permitted development. It is also the route for parking that serves homes, since Class OA excludes it.

The same Framework policies apply to a full application. In practice the issues councils raise on canopy schemes are the ones Class OA names — siting, design, appearance and glare — plus heritage setting, trees, drainage and lighting. Building within the Class OA limits where possible is usually quicker than designing a taller or boundary-hugging scheme that needs a full application.

EV chargers under a solar carport

Chargers are not part of Class OA. They have their own permitted development rights in Part 2 of the Order:

Class D — a wall-mounted outlet for recharging vehicles within an area lawfully used for off-street parking, no more than 0.2 cubic metres including its casing.
Class E — an upstand (charging post) up to 2.7 metres above the parking surface outside the curtilage of a house or block of flats (1.6 metres within it), with no more than one upstand per parking space.
Equipment housing — since 29 May 2025, Class E also allows one unit of equipment housing in a non-domestic car park, up to 29 cubic metres and 3 metres high, not within 5 metres of a highway or 10 metres of a house or flat curtilage.

Neither Class D nor Class E applies within a scheduled monument site or the curtilage of a listed building. The 29 May 2025 changes raised the post height limit from 2.3 metres to 2.7 metres and removed the old bans on chargers within 2 metres of a highway. In September 2026 the government confirmed it intends to allow several equipment housing units with a combined limit of 45 cubic metres, but the legislation had not been laid when this page was checked — the single 29-cubic-metre unit is still the law.

What the chargers themselves cost, and the grants and tax allowances that apply, are covered in our breakdown of chargepoint and canopy costs.

Battery storage with a canopy

Class OA does not cover batteries. In its November 2025 response on solar car parks and EV charging, the government decided not to bring battery storage into permitted development rights, on the basis that most battery storage projects will need a wider planning application in any case. If a canopy scheme includes storage in England, plan for the batteries to go through the planning system even where the canopy itself proceeds under Class OA.

Scotland: Class 9M

Scotland has its own right for car park canopies, Class 9M of its permitted development order, in its current form since 24 May 2024. It also caps height at 4 metres (3 metres for other parts), but it is stricter than England in three ways: it does not apply within 5 metres of a road or within 3 kilometres of an aerodrome or technical site, and it excludes conservation areas, National Parks, National Scenic Areas and World Heritage Sites. It is more permissive in another: the canopy itself needs no prior approval — only associated battery storage does, with a 28-day deemed decision. The full Scottish picture, including yields, DNOs and funding, is in our guide to solar canopies in Scotland.

Wales and Northern Ireland have their own permitted development orders, which this guide does not cover. Check with the local planning authority before relying on permitted development there.

Building regulations, grid and other consents

Building regulations

Planning and building regulations are separate regimes. In England the Building Regulations define a building as a permanent or temporary building "but not any other kind of structure or erection", and the carport exemption covers only a ground-level extension to a building, open on at least two sides, of no more than 30 square metres. No primary source settles whether a free-standing multi-bay canopy needs approval, so confirm it with a building control body before work starts. In Scotland, the Scottish Government notes that permitted development may still need a building warrant.

Structural design

A canopy is a free-standing steel structure carrying panels in the open, so wind and snow loading under BS EN 1991 drive its foundation and frame design. Ask who signs off the structure and who holds the design liability.

Grid connection

Anything above 16 A per phase (about 3.68 kW) needs a G99 application to the distribution network operator. Under the ENA's connection guide, a DNO must make an offer within three months of a complete application. The grid application is frequently the longest item in the programme, so run it alongside prior approval, not after it.

Business rates

Qualifying renewable plant is removed from rateable values in England until 31 March 2035, but the land and settings that hold it remain rateable. See our guide to business rates on solar canopies.

Will canopies become compulsory?

In May 2025 the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero published a call for evidence that included a proposal to mandate solar canopies on new outdoor car parks, subject to exemptions. On 21 May 2026 it concluded that the policy will not be taken any further at this point. For now, a canopy is a choice — supported by permitted development and national policy, but not required.

Solar carport planning permission: questions

Do you need planning permission for a solar carport in England?

Usually not a full planning application, but you do need to apply for prior approval. Since 21 December 2023, Class OA of Part 14 of the General Permitted Development Order has made a solar canopy permitted development within an area lawfully used as off-street parking, other than parking for a house or a block of flats. Before work starts you apply to the local planning authority for a determination on whether prior approval is needed for the canopy's siting, design and external appearance, in particular glare.

How high can a solar carport be without planning permission?

Under England's Class OA, no part of the canopy may be more than 4 metres above ground level. Scotland's Class 9M also sets 4 metres, measured from the parking surface, with 3 metres for any other part of the development. Above those heights a full planning application is needed.

Can a solar carport go in a conservation area?

In England, yes in principle: Class OA still applies on article 2(3) land — conservation areas, National Landscapes (areas of outstanding natural beauty), the Broads, National Parks and World Heritage Sites — but prior approval there also considers the impact of the canopy's appearance on that land. The right does not apply within the curtilage of a listed building or on a scheduled monument. In Scotland, Class 9M does not apply in conservation areas, so a planning application is needed.

How long does prior approval for a solar carport take?

The council publicises the application with a site notice for at least 21 days or by notifying adjoining owners or occupiers. If it has not told you within 56 days whether prior approval is given or refused, the development may begin. The canopy must then be completed within 3 years of the approval or of the decision that approval was not required.

Do EV chargers under a solar carport need planning permission?

Chargers have their own permitted development rights in Part 2 of the Order. Class D covers a wall-mounted outlet of no more than 0.2 cubic metres; Class E covers charging posts up to 2.7 metres high outside the curtilage of a house or flats, one per parking space, and since 29 May 2025 one unit of equipment housing of up to 29 cubic metres and 3 metres high in a non-domestic car park, not within 5 metres of a highway or 10 metres of a house or flat curtilage. Neither class applies on a scheduled monument or within a listed building's curtilage.

Does Class OA cover battery storage with a solar carport?

No. Class OA covers the solar canopy. In November 2025 the government decided not to bring battery storage into permitted development rights, reasoning that most battery projects need a wider planning application anyway. In Scotland, Class 9M does cover associated battery storage, subject to a prior approval determination.

Does a home solar carport count as permitted development under Class OA?

No. Class OA excludes off-street parking for a dwellinghouse or a block of flats, and a canopy inside or within 10 metres of the curtilage of a house or block of flats is outside the right. A domestic carport is assessed under different rules, so check with the local planning authority.

Will solar canopies be compulsory on new car parks?

Not at present. In May 2025 the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero sought views on requiring solar canopies on new outdoor car parks. On 21 May 2026 it said the policy will not be taken any further at this point.

Sources

All checked on 17 September 2026.

This is general information, not legal advice. This site is published by SEO Dons Ltd; we are not an installer or a planning consultancy.

Solar Carport Planning Permission — UK Guide