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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%. 2,896 decisions in the last 12 months.
Scottish Government planning applications statistics for Scotland, 2024/25. Listed buildings are illustrative.
Householder decisions
2,896
Work on existing homes, 2024/25
Approved
89%
Of every planning decision here, not just domestic work
Average decision
8.5 weeks
The authority's own average, as its nation publishes it
Conservation areas
654
Where appearance decides the application
The figures here are the Scottish Government planning applications statistics for 2024/25. 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. Illustrative: conservation areas, which this nation doesn't publish.
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.
Scotland's permitted development rules are separate from England's and were widened for domestic heat pumps and solar, which is why so much work here never reaches an application.
Edinburgh's New Town and Old Town World Heritage Site is the most constrained area in the country for any visible external change.
No permission needed
Scotland's permitted development rights are set separately and were widened for both solar and heat pumps, which is why so much work here never reaches an application.
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.