The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities published a revised National Planning Policy Framework in December 2023. The revision includes, for the first time, a policy stating that local planning authorities should give significant weight to the need to support energy efficiency and low carbon heating improvements to existing buildings1.
The change is set out in a government review of the barriers to adapting historic homes, published on 3 January 2024, which records the December 2023 publication and describes the new policy as a first1.
"DLUHC have published, in December 2023, a revised National Planning Policy Framework. This revised Framework includes for the first time a new policy setting out that local planning authorities should give significant weight to the need to support energy efficiency and low carbon heating improvements to existing buildings."
The same review lists other planning changes affecting home energy work. DLUHC introduced changes to solar permitted development rights in November 20231. At the Autumn Statement on 23 November 2023, the government announced 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. 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 covers England and reports figures on the scale of the task. It states that 5.9 million UK buildings, 21 per cent of the stock, were built before 1919, with a further 4.3 million, 15 per cent, built before 19441. Historic England data cited in the review puts listed dwellings in England at approximately 350,000, with an estimated 2.8 million homes in conservation areas1. On guidance, the review reports that over half, 54 per cent, of owners and occupiers think it is difficult to find reliable guidance about how to retrofit listed homes1. Asked where they would seek it, 16 per cent named local councils, 14 per cent architects, 13 per cent builders, 9 per cent professional organisations, 8 per cent Historic England, 7 per cent UK Government sources and 4 per cent local heritage organisations1.
The review also records that some historic buildings are exempt from having an Energy Performance Certificate where complying with certain minimum energy efficiency requirements would require installing recommendations that would unacceptably alter their character or appearance1.
Why it matters for households
Planning policy is one of the points where a household's ability to improve a home's energy performance is decided, particularly for listed buildings and homes in conservation areas, where consent requirements can add cost and delay. The December 2023 framework change directs decision makers to give significant weight to energy efficiency and low carbon heating improvements to existing buildings, which bears on how applications for that work are assessed. The permitted development changes noted in the review affect solar installations and, subject to consultation, the siting of air source heat pumps. For a household, these are the rules that determine whether work can proceed without a full application and how much of a home's heating and electricity can be met from its own roof or heat source. The review's finding that 54 per cent of owners and occupiers struggle to find reliable guidance points to an information gap alongside the planning rules. Guidance on listed buildings and conservation areas is covered in listed buildings and conservation areas consent for energy work, and the wider policy landscape in the regulation and policy hub.
What happens next
The review states that the government would consult on amending the permitted development right for air source heat pumps, following the Autumn Statement announcement of 23 November 20231. MCS has opened a consultation on changes to the MCS 020 noise assessment standard1. No outcome or timetable for either consultation is given in the review.