Guides · Updated 2026-10-12

Solar panels in Thanet - the planning reality.

Most solar panels on a house roof do not need planning permission, but conservation areas and listed buildings have extra rules, and those rules changed on 27 August 2026. Here is what to check before you order, and where to see the current position.

Permitted development - the default rule

Solar panels on a house or block of flats are usually permitted development under Part 14, Class A of the General Permitted Development Order, as amended by SI 2026/896 (in force 27 August 2026). That means no planning application, provided the limits are met. The main ones for a roof are:

• Panels on a pitched roof may stand no more than 0.2m proud of the roof slope
• On a flat roof, panels may rise no more than 0.6m above the highest point of the roof
• Wall-mounted panels may project no more than 0.2m where the wall abuts a highway, otherwise 0.4m

Roof-slope panels on an ordinary house, or a house in a conservation area, are not otherwise restricted just because of the conservation area. Work started under the earlier rules may carry on until the end of 26 August 2027.

Conservation areas

Parts of Margate, including the Old Town and Cliftonville, sit inside conservation areas. Since 27 August 2026, in a conservation area (or World Heritage Site) solar equipment is not permitted development on a wall, balcony or roof enclosure that fronts a highway. That needs planning permission. Panels on the roof slope itself are not caught by that rule. Some councils also remove permitted development rights on particular streets, so check your address on Thanet District Council's planning map before you commit.

Listed buildings

Solar equipment is not permitted development on a listed house or listed block of flats, or on buildings within their curtilage. You need planning permission and, as applicable, listed building consent. Ask the council's conservation officer before you design anything. Siting panels on a later extension or a separate outbuilding is sometimes worth asking about, but the council decides each case on its merits.

Ground-mounted and stand-alone panels

Stand-alone panels in the garden are covered by Class B. They are not permitted development in the curtilage of a listed building. In a conservation area, panels nearer the highway than the house need prior approval on appearance. Panel area is capped at 9 square metres, and height at 4m (2m if within 5m of a boundary, or nearer the highway in a conservation area).

Plug-in solar

Plug-in solar kits that connect through a standard plug and socket are now defined in the rules. See the solar and battery page for what they can and cannot do.

Cliffs, salt and wind

Margate's seafront is a harsh environment. On exposed clifftop and seafront roofs, ask whoever fits the panels for corrosion-resistant mounting hardware and a wind-loading check to the relevant standard (BS EN 1991-1-4). It is a specification item, not a barrier.

What the install involves

• Survey and quote, including the roof, the consumer unit and the cable route
• Planning or listed building consent, only if your property needs it
• Larger systems need the network operator's approval before work starts; we tell the network operator about the install. In Kent that is South Eastern Power Networks, part of UK Power Networks
• Installation by an MCS-certified installer, with the certificate issued on completion
• Smart Export Guarantee registration, which we support

All solar installs are MCS-certified. For options, price ranges marked as estimates, and 0% VAT until 31 March 2027 (5% after), see the solar and battery page. To check the planning position for your own address, start with the Planning Portal solar panels guidance and then ask the council.