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Most domestic energy work needs no application at all. The work that does is where projects stall — and the odds differ by authority, and by whether the property sits in a conservation area.
UK average 86%. 2,778 decisions in the last 12 months.
MHCLG planning statistics for the East of England, year ending March 2026. Conservation areas from the Planning Data platform. Listed buildings are illustrative.
Householder decisions
2,778
Work on existing homes, year ending March 2026
Approved
89%
Of every planning decision here, not just domestic work
Decided in time
92.1%
Non-major decisions, in eight weeks or an agreed extension
Conservation areas
214
Where appearance decides the application
The figures here are the MHCLG planning statistics for year ending March 2026. They count every kind of development, and only work that needed an application: most domestic solar and many heat pumps are permitted development and never appear. Listed buildings are a placeholder — the Planning Data platform holds them with no authority against them.
Local knowledge
Applications are rarely refused because the technology is unwelcome. They are refused on appearance, noise or paperwork, and two of those three are fixable before you apply.
The region has more listed buildings than any other outside London, and thatch in particular rules out roof-mounted solar almost entirely.
North Norfolk refuses nearly three applications in ten, the highest rate in the East, and takes 14 weeks to do it.
No permission needed
England's rules sit in the General Permitted Development Order. Domestic heat pump limits were widened in 2024, and the one-metre boundary rule was removed for most properties.
It costs a fraction of a full application and takes about eight weeks. It is the piece of paper a buyer's solicitor asks for in five years' time, and the one nobody has.
Councils
The same measure, on the same kind of house, decided differently depending on which side of a line it sits. This is the single largest source of variation in whether domestic energy work happens.
Domestic energy applications decided in the last 12 months.
Authorities with large conservation area or National Park coverage sit at the bottom of every list like this one.
Median weeks from validation to decision.
The statutory target for a householder application is eight weeks. The UK median across the areas we cover is 8.
Illustrative. Placeholder figures to show what this page will hold. Real ranges arrive with the quote and performance data behind them.
Questions
Conservation area, listed building, National Park — all of it is recorded against the property. We'll tell you which apply before you pay for a survey.