The government announced at the Chancellor's Autumn Statement on 23 November 2023 that it would consult on amending the existing permitted development right for air source heat pumps to remove the requirement that all parts of the development must be at least one metre from the property boundary1. The announcement was recorded in a review of the barriers to adapting historic homes for energy efficiency, published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 3 January 20241.
The one metre boundary condition sits within the permitted development rights that allow certain air source heat pumps to be installed without a planning application in England. Under the current rule, every part of the installation, including the outdoor unit, must be at least one metre from the edge of the property. The consultation proposed in November 2023 would remove that distance condition1.
The same review records other planning changes made in the same period. DLUHC published a revised National Planning Policy Framework in December 2023, which for the first time sets out that local planning authorities should give significant weight to the need to support energy efficiency and low carbon heating improvements to existing buildings1. DLUHC also introduced changes to solar permitted development rights in November 20231.
On noise, the review states that MCS has opened a consultation on changes to the MCS 020 Standard, the noise assessment referenced in permitted development rights, based on the recommendations of research1. The review does not give a date for that consultation or say when it closes.
The review covers England only1. It does not state the date the heat pump consultation would open, how long it would run, or what would replace the one metre condition if it were removed. Those details have not been reported1.
"At the Chancellor's Autumn Statement on 23 November 2023, it was announced that government would consult on amending the existing permitted development right for air source heat pumps to remove the requirement that all parts of the development must be at least one metre from the property boundary."
Why it matters for households
The one metre rule is a siting constraint rather than a performance one. It decides where an outdoor unit can physically go, and on smaller plots, terraces and flats with limited garden or yard space it can be the difference between an installation that needs no planning application and one that needs a full planning permission application, with the cost and delay that involves.
Removing the condition would widen the set of homes where an air source heat pump can be fitted under permitted development, which matters most where space is tight. It would not change the noise limits that apply, which is why the parallel work on the MCS 020 noise assessment is relevant to how far any relaxation reaches1.
For a household weighing up a switch away from a gas boiler, the practical effect is on the route to installation rather than on running costs or on the energy independence that comes from generating and using heat at home. Planning status affects whether a job can proceed without an application; it does not change how much heat a pump delivers or what it costs to run.
What happens next
The consultation itself had not been published at the time of the review. No opening date, closing date or draft wording for the amended right is given1. The review also records that MCS has opened a consultation on the MCS 020 noise standard, without stating its timetable1. The wider policy and targets picture for heat pumps is set out separately.