Solar Panels
Hedon & Holderness

Hedon in the 2021 Census: who owns the roofs

The 2021 Census counted 6,878 usual residents and 3,122 households in Hedon parish. The tenure table, which totals 3,124 households, puts 2,318 in the owned or shared ownership group, 555 renting privately or living rent free, and 251 renting social housing. Tenure matters for the chargepoint grant for renters and flat owners: tenants of any home can apply, private or social, but people who own the house they live in cannot. For other funding, see our grants page.

Hedon's two conservation areas and the 2026 solar rules

Hedon was designated a conservation area in January 1969 by the former East Riding County Council, and East Riding of Yorkshire Council's 2006 appraisal says it was the first in Holderness. A separate Hedon Haven Conservation Area, designated by Holderness Borough Council in 1992, covers the Haven, the ancient port of Holderness, less than a mile south of the town centre.

Since 27 August 2026 (S.I. 2026/896), permitted development for solar on a house in a conservation area excludes panels on a wall, balcony or roof enclosure that fronts a highway. Pitched roof slopes are not named in that limitation. They follow the general limits: no more than 0.2 metres beyond the roof slope and no higher than the highest part of the roof, excluding any chimney. Work permitted under the old rules but not the new ones can still be carried out until the end of 26 August 2027. The appraisal notes that a high proportion of central Hedon buildings stand at the back of the pavement. On those streets, panels on the front wall fall outside permitted development, while the roof slope above can still qualify if the house is not listed or on a scheduled monument site.

Listed homes, St Augustine's and the scheduled monument

The appraisal says Hedon has more listed buildings than any other parish in Holderness, with listed addresses on Souttergate, St Augustine's Gate, Market Place, Market Hill, Magdalen Gate, Fletchergate, Baxtergate and George Street. Permitted development does not cover solar on a listed house or a building within its curtilage, so those homes need a planning application to East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

The Church of St Augustine on Church Lane is Grade I, first listed on 9 January 1954. Historic England records its crossing tower of 1428 and G E Street's restoration of 1868 to 1876, and the appraisal treats the church as the principal focal point of the area. Living near it does not by itself remove permitted development: the listed-building limitation applies where the house itself is listed.

The appraisal also records that a large part of the conservation area is scheduled as an ancient monument, the scheduled areas mainly reflecting the location of the watercourses. Permitted development does not cover solar on a scheduled monument site. The council's planning constraints map shows conservation areas, listed buildings and scheduled monuments, but the council says it acts as a guide only.

Salt End, the Humber and the local network

The appraisal describes Hedon as low lying and level, rising to more than 20 feet above sea level only on Market Hill, some two miles from the Humber estuary, with the Salt End cooling towers dominating the southern skyline. The council's adopted Allocations Document Update (2025) sets aside 179.42 hectares east of Salt End (site HAV-A, Hedon Haven) for Port of Hull expansion, behind the Humber flood defences and next to the Humber Estuary SPA, SAC, Ramsar site and SSSI. Those flood and habitat requirements attach to that allocation; none of the 2026 rooftop solar limitations for houses mentions flood zones.

Northern Powergrid runs the network for Hedon's HU12 postcodes. Its open data lists the Saltend 132/33kV bulk supply point at HU12 8EY among the substations serving HU12 postal sectors. Under the ENA's G98 standard, 16A per phase corresponds to 3.68 kW single-phase, and MCS says systems within that limit are notified within 28 days of being commissioned. If the total, battery included, exceeds 16A per phase, the G99 process applies before installation. See battery storage in Hull if you are adding storage, or solar panels in Hull. The appraisal places the Hedon Conservation Area in the 'Burstwick to Withernsea Farmland' landscape character area; our Withernsea page covers Withernsea itself.

Frequently asked questions

Updated September 2026.