The short answer
Usually not. In England, solar panels on a house can be permitted development: you do not apply to the council, provided the installation meets set limits and conditions. The current limits took effect on 27 August 2026. The cases that need more thought in Hull are conservation areas (especially the Avenues and Pearson Park), listed buildings and flats.
The permitted development limits for a house
Solar PV or solar thermal equipment on a house, or on a building within its curtilage, is not permitted development if:
- on a pitched roof, it protrudes more than 0.2 metres from the roof slope or sits above the highest part of the roof (chimneys excluded);
- on a flat roof, its highest part is more than 0.6 metres above the highest part of the roof;
- on a wall, balcony enclosure or roof enclosure, it protrudes more than 0.2 metres where that surface abuts a highway, or 0.4 metres elsewhere;
- it is plug-in solar and any part is fitted to a wooden wall, balcony or enclosure, or to timber cladding;
- the house is listed, or the site is a scheduled monument.
Panels must also be sited, so far as practicable, to minimise their effect on the building's appearance and the amenity of the area, and removed as soon as reasonably practicable once no longer needed. Ground-mounted panels at a house follow separate rules, including a 9 square metre limit on the surface area of the panels.
Conservation areas in Hull
Hull City Council lists 27 conservation areas, including Old Town, Avenues and Pearson Park, Garden Village, Boulevard, Newland Park and Sutton Village. In any conservation area the national rules still allow panels on a house roof, within the limits above, but not on a wall, balcony or roof enclosure that fronts a highway. For panels on a flat roof, you must first apply to the council for a decision on whether it needs to approve their appearance.
The Avenues and Pearson Park: highway-facing roof slopes need permission
The council has also made Article 4 directions, which remove some permitted development rights, mainly in conservation areas. Under the Avenues and Pearson Park direction, you need planning permission to install, alter or replace solar PV or solar thermal equipment on a roof slope facing a highway, on the house or a building within its curtilage. A slope that does not face a highway is not caught by that item, though the national limits still apply. Ask the council what counts as a highway before relying on a side or rear slope: on its Garden Village Article 4 page, for example, Hull City Council defines a highway as any public right of way.
Other directions have their own lists. Boulevard and Coltman Street cover porches, front doors and windows facing a highway, and neither names solar equipment. Garden Village covers roof alterations on houses coloured red on its roofs plan; ask the council whether that catches your solar design before you commit.
How to check your own address
- Confirm your council with the Find your local council tool on gov.uk. Not every nearby home sits under Hull City Council: the Cottingham conservation area appraisal, for example, is published by East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
- Check the map. Hull City Council says My Hull Maps shows the location of each conservation area. Boundary maps can be viewed at the Guildhall, Alfred Gelder Street, by appointment through dev.control@hullcc.gov.uk.
- Check for an Article 4 direction on the council's website, and read what it covers if your area has one.
- For East Riding addresses, use that council's Planning Constraints Interactive Map. East Riding of Yorkshire Council says Atwick is currently its only conservation area with an Article 4 direction, covering windows and doors at a small number of properties.
- Still unsure? You can apply to the council for a lawful development certificate: a decision on whether a proposed development would be lawful for planning purposes.
Listed buildings
If your house is listed, solar on it or on a building within its curtilage is not permitted development. Listed building consent is also needed for any alteration affecting its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest, and doing that work without consent is a criminal offence. Hull City Council says around 473 buildings in the city are on the list, with descriptions on Historic England's National Heritage List for England, and that a consent application usually takes eight weeks, sometimes longer.
An honest point: an application adds time and can be refused. In the Avenues, a slope that does not face a highway may avoid one, if that slope suits panels. If your home is listed, or the only practical roof on an Avenues home faces a highway, ask whether the saving justifies the process. Sometimes it does not.
Flats and leasehold homes
Permitted development can also cover solar on a block of flats, with its own limits: no more than 0.2 metres out from the wall or roof slope, not above the highest part of a pitched roof, no more than 0.6 metres above a flat roof, and not on a wall fronting a highway in a conservation area. Planning is only half of it: the Planning Portal notes that leaseholders may need permission from their landlord, freeholder or management company, so check your lease first.
Planning is not the only sign-off
Building regulations normally apply to roof-mounted panels. The roof's ability to carry the weight must be checked, some strengthening may be needed, and the electrical installation is covered too. YEERS is NAPIT registered, so its electrical engineers can self-certify electrical work under Part P of the Building Regulations.
How YEERS handles planning
YEERS assesses your property as part of the survey and handles any necessary applications at no extra charge. Read more on our solar panels Hull page, compare typical solar panel costs in Hull, or request a free quote.
