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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%. 2,136 decisions in the last 12 months.
MHCLG planning statistics for Leeds, year ending March 2026. Conservation areas from the Planning Data platform. Listed buildings are illustrative.
Householder decisions
2,136
Work on existing homes, year ending March 2026
Approved
83.3%
Of every planning decision here, not just domestic work
Decided in time
93.2%
Non-major decisions, in eight weeks or an agreed extension
Conservation areas
80
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.
Leeds publishes design guidance for solar in conservation areas, and applications that follow it are approved at close to the rate of unconstrained ones.
Back-to-back terraces have no rear elevation of their own, so front-facing solar is the only option — and it is the option most likely to be questioned.
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
One authority covers the whole area, so there is no boundary to fall the wrong side of — which is unusual and helpful.
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.