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Planning Update: 1 Metre Boundary Rule for Heat Pumps Has Been Scrapped

 
Government Schemes, Regulations, Planning & Organisations
Last Post by JamesPa 2 hours ago
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Mars
 Mars
(@editor)
Illustrious Member Admin
Joined: 4 years ago
Posts: 3197
Topic starter 10/05/2025 11:00 pm  

Some welcome news from Westminster. As of 29 May 2025, the 1m boundary restriction for domestic air source heat pump installations will officially be removed in England. The change forms part of a broader amendment to planning legislation (The Town and Country Planning General Permitted Development Order 2025) and represents a win for common sense and progress in electrifying heat.

For years, this restriction has made life harder for homeowners in terraced and semi-detached homes, particularly those with limited outdoor space. Under the old rule, heat pumps were only allowed under permitted development if sited at least one metre from a property boundary. That pushed a lot of installations into full planning territory, costly, slow and often totally unnecessary.

This amendment quietly strikes out that clause. So from the end of May, the one-metre rule is gone. That means more homeowners will be able to install a heat pump without jumping through planning hoops, which could help speed things up and reduce overall project costs.

This is a real-world improvement that reflects what homeowners and installers have been saying for years. Many perfectly viable installs have either been delayed, cancelled or made unnecessarily awkward because of a planning technicality. In some cases, units had to be wall-mounted or bracketed in odd places just to comply.

Noise restrictions haven’t been forgotten. Installations still need to comply with updated MCS 020 standards, but overall this feels like a solid step in the right direction. Installers should be able to site heat pumps more appropriately now, without sacrificing efficiency or aesthetics just to tick a planning box.

 

This topic was modified 5 hours ago by Mars

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 JamesPa
(@jamespa)
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Joined: 2 years ago
Posts: 2422
11/05/2025 1:36 am  

This is indeed welcome news.  In  addition the new legislation:

Increases the maximum volume under pd to 1.5cu m other than for flats where it remains at 0.6cu m

Allows 2 heat pumps within the curtilege of a detached house.

The noise calculations have been completely rewritten albeit that in most cases the result will be the same.  There is now a definition of 'substantial barrier' however it contains text which is unclear and which mcs have so far been unable to clarify ( I have challenged them on this, they are looking into it. I also challenged them on a schoolboy error in the formula which now appears to have been corrected)

Also the definition of  'MCS planning standards' has been redefined in the legislation and, taking this together with the revised noise calculation document, it appears (subject to confirmation if anyone else has a different interpretation) to remove altogether the requirement that the installation is to mcs standards (other than in respect of noise) and undertaken by an mcs contractor, thus opening the possibility of  diy installs under pd (or indeed installs by non mcs plumbers).  Of course such installs will still need to conform to the separate BUS rules if a grant is claimed.

The order making the changes is here

The revised noise calculation is here

 

All in all a very satisfactory set of changes IMHO (other than the lack of precision in definition from mcs.

 

4kW peak of solar PV since 2011; EV and a 1930s house which has been partially renovated to improve its efficiency. 7kW Vaillant heat pump.


   
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