HOME PAGE | CONTENTS

DOMESTIC WIND TURBINES

Q - Do small domestic wind turbines require planning permission?

A - Any turbine fixed to the roof or side of a dwelling will normally fall to be considered against the provisions of Classes A, B and C of the General Permitted Development Order [GPDO] which deal with enlargements and alterations to dwellinghouses. The Government are considering changes to the GPDO to take into account the increase in domestic wind turbines.

Q - Can a wind turbine be erected in the garden to a dwelling?

A - Class E of the GPDO permits the provision of any 'building' in the curtilage of a dwellinghouse. Article 1 of the order provides that a 'building' includes 'any structure or erection', but not plant or machinery. The courts have held that plant and machinery can be distinguished from a 'building' by reference to size, permanence and physical attachment to the ground. As a wind turbine is likely to be a permanent structure of some size they are likely to fall to be 'development' and therefore require planning permission.

Further information can be found in PPS22 and its Companion Guide.