This rule has literally been scrapped this week, and takes effect early next year (I think), so you’ll be fine from that perspective. There will, however, still be noise assessments that need to be conducted. Others may be able to comment more.

Posted by: @realevil

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However, This would mean the left side of any heat pump would be about 80cm - 90cm from neighbour garage... which is under the 1m I believe is required.

Correct

Posted by: @editor

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This rule has literally been scrapped this week, and takes effect early next year (I think), so you’ll be fine from that perspective. There will, however, still be noise assessments that need to be conducted. Others may be able to comment more.

Whoa!  The change has been announced this week but the rule is still in place until the law changes (which it is said will be next year but as yet no date) and thus applies to any installation which occurs before it changes.

Posted by: @realevil

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Is this sort of thing only sorted by planning applications etc?

Yes.  However it might be simpler to wait until the law changes.

All that said planning permission for minor things like this only matters in practice if someone complains.  If that's highly unlikely then you could proceed at risk (this is not advice!).  After 10 years a breach of planning permission cannot be enforced.

If someone does complain (usually about noise) then the easiest course of action for the local authority is to use planning law to deal with the complaint.  Whilst noise nuisance is an offence under environmental health law, its much more onerous to prove, whereas absence of planning consent is easy to prove.  This is therefore what they would almost certainly do.  In principle they could require you to remove it, but of course by the time they did the law might have changed.  I think you would still be required to remove it but could then (I think) reinstall under the new rules.  Whether the LPA would bother in this circumstance is a moot point.  I would guess many wouldn't.

@jamespa Does the planning rule actually apply to the installation physically - or to such a device actually running? Thoughtfully, Toodles.

Posted by: @toodles

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@jamespa Does the planning rule actually apply to the installation physically - or to such a device actually running? Thoughtfully, Toodles.

Its a good thought however - my interpretation is:

• The physical installation falls within the legal definition of 'development' (and thus requires permission)
• The PD rules speak of 'Installation of air source heat pumps' and therefore apply to the physical installation
• Furthermore (as a further indication that 'installation' and 'use' have different meanings in the legislation, there is a condition that the ASHP is 'used solely for heating'.  This is the condition that is frequently misrepresented as excluding ASHPs capable of cooling, which it doesn't, it merely says that they must not be used for cooling

In conclusion I think its clear that the rule applies to the physical installation.  

That said, if its not running there can be no cause for a noise complaint, and its very unlikely indeed that the LPA would take action against a minor breach of planning conditions alone (as opposed to one associated with a noise complaint) where the rules were about to change such that the breach would not be a breach if the installation had occurred a few months later!

@jamespa Hence my thought; after all, if there were a complaint about noise, then turning the pump off until legislation is updated suggests to me that only a very minor breach of regulations would have occurred.😉 Toodles.

Posted by: @toodles

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@jamespa Hence my thought; after all, if there were a complaint about noise, then turning the pump off until legislation is updated suggests to me that only a very minor breach of regulations would have occurred.😉 Toodles.

Planning officers tend to be black and white in their approach in my experience so minor or not it's a breach.

In practice it almost certainly hangs on whether there is a complaint or not