Planning to be scrapped for domestic renewables

The government has announced plans to slash red tape covering the installation of wind turbines, solar panels and other renewable technologies in the home. Under the proposals, planning permission will no longer be required for domestic renewables.

Communities secretary Ruth Kelly said: “I believe that the local planning system should support efforts to tackle climate change rather than acting as a barrier.” Local authorities will retain the right to restrict planning permission in exceptional circumstances where the benefit of the technology is outweighed by its impact on the environment. “It is important to ensure that there are clear, commonsense safeguards on noise, siting and size and that the unique features of conservation areas are protected,” said Kelly.

Responding to the consultation, Dave Sowden, chief executive of the Micropower Council said: “The current planning system says ‘no’ unless there is a good reason to consider otherwise. In future it will say ‘yes’ within properly considered, predefined limits. This will make a big difference to large numbers of customers wanting to take up microgeneration but put off today by bureaucracy and inconsistency.”

The closing date for responses to the consultation is 27 June 2007.