New ground source heat pump installations carried out after 1 October 2023 may need a permit from the Environment Agency, the Planning Portal has confirmed in its guidance on planning permission for ground and water source heat pumps1. The same guidance states that installing a ground source or water source heat pump on domestic premises is usually considered permitted development, so no planning application is normally needed1.
"If you are installing a new ground source heat pump after 1 October 2023 you may need to get a permit from the Environment Agency."
The guidance points to the government website for full details of permits and the exemptions from requiring one1. It does not set out in the same place which installations fall inside or outside the permit requirement, so the specific tests are not reproduced here.
Two other conditions sit alongside the permit point. Householders in a listed building or a conservation area are directed to contact their council to check local requirements1. The Planning Portal also notes that its guidance covers the planning regime for England and that policy in Wales may differ2.
| Point | What the guidance says |
|---|---|
| Planning permission | Ground or water source heat pump on domestic premises usually permitted development1 |
| Environment Agency permit | May be needed for a new ground source heat pump installed after 1 October 20231 |
| Listed buildings and conservation areas | Contact the council to check local requirements1 |
| Nation | Guidance relates to England; policy in Wales may differ2 |
The Planning Portal describes the page as an introductory guide and not a definitive source of legal information, and notes that national rules may be added to by local rules2. It also states that local authorities may charge a fee for pre-application advice2.
Why it matters for households
A ground source heat pump draws heat from the ground through ground loops and boreholes, which is the part of the system the permit regime concerns. For a household weighing up a system that runs on electricity rather than gas, the permit question sits alongside the planning question, and the two are separate: permitted development status does not by itself settle whether an Environment Agency permit is needed1.
The timing matters for anyone whose installation date falls after 1 October 2023. The guidance does not say how long a permit takes, what it costs, or what happens if a system is installed without one; none of that has been reported in these pages. The exemptions are described only as being set out on the government website1.
For homes considering a shared ground loop network, where several properties draw on one array of boreholes, the same permit point applies to the ground source installation, though the guidance does not address networked schemes specifically1.
What happens next
The 1 October 2023 date has passed, so the permit question applies to new ground source installations from that point onward1. The Planning Portal directs readers to the government guidance on closed loop ground source heating and cooling systems for the detail of when a permit is needed and when an exemption applies1. No further dates are given in the guidance.