In brief
Unlisted Crewe houses can usually have roof panels without a planning application if they sit within 0.2 m of the slope and below its highest part. The three listed railway-cottage terraces need planning permission and Listed Building Consent. Crewe Green is a conservation area; this guide found none in the town centre. Blocks of flats are now covered.
The starting point: permitted development
Solar panels on homes in England are usually covered by permitted development, a set of national rights to carry out certain work without applying for planning permission. The solar rules are found in Part 14, Schedule 2, of the General Permitted Development Order 2015, which was amended by SI 2026/896 with effect from 27 August 2026.
Class A deals with panels on buildings. As amended, it covers houses and blocks of flats, and the main limits are simple:
- On a pitched roof, nothing may stick out more than 0.2 m from the surface of the slope.
- No part of the array may rise above the roof’s highest part.
- For a flat roof, nothing may rise more than 0.6 m above the surface.
Those are the headline conditions, not the whole text, and there are others. Work that was going ahead under the rules as they stood before the amendment may still be completed up to 26 August 2027. Anyone relying on permitted development for something unusual should read Part 14 itself or ask the council.
The listed railway cottages
Crewe owes its shape to the railway. The Grand Junction Railway’s line opened in 1837, the company moved its works to the town in 1843 and it built houses for its workers (Britannica). Historic England lists three terraces of those cottages at Grade II, each first listed on 29 March 1976 and dated to about 1848. The list entries describe them as two-storey cottages in brown brick with slate roofs, designed by John Cunningham as part of Joseph Locke’s original layout for the railway company and now private homes.
| Terrace | Cottages | List entry |
|---|---|---|
| 1-19 Betley Street | 10 | 1138676 |
| 1-9 Tollitt Street | 9 | 1330052 |
| 1-19 Dorfold Street | 10 | 1136172 |
Permitted development does not apply to listed buildings. Panels on any of these 29 cottages need planning permission and Listed Building Consent, and the listing covers the whole building, rear roofs included. Other buildings in Crewe may be listed too, so search the National Heritage List if you are unsure about a particular address. The practical side, from talking to the council to what a firm should provide, is on the railway cottages page.
Applying for consent on a listed cottage
An application for a listed building is more involved than a quote for an ordinary roof. The council will usually want drawings showing where the panels would sit, details of the product and its colour, how it would be fixed, and how cables would reach the inside of the house. A short heritage statement explaining the effect on the building is normally part of it. Because the cottages were built as uniform terraces, the effect on the row as a whole is likely to be considered, not only the single house. Talking to the council’s conservation staff before applying can save a refused application and a wasted fee.
Conservation areas
Cheshire East has 76 conservation areas, listed on the council’s conservation areas page. Crewe Green, which has a 2008 appraisal on the council’s appraisals page, is the conservation area this guide found at Crewe. We found none in the town centre; check with the council before relying on that for any address, because boundaries can be drawn tightly and can change.
Being in a conservation area does not by itself rule out roof panels. Under the amended Class A, the exclusions for a house in a conservation area cover walls, balconies and roof enclosures that front a highway; for a block of flats, the exclusion is walls. A pitched roof facing the street is not singled out, though the general height limits still apply.
Flat roofs and prior approval
If the land is in a conservation area, flat-roof panels cannot go up until the council has given a prior approval decision. Prior approval is a narrower process than a full planning application: the council considers specific matters rather than the whole principle of the work. Apply before any work starts and wait for the decision. Flat-roofed extensions, garages and dormers are where this most often arises.
Blocks of flats
Blocks of flats were brought within Class A by the 2026 amendment. A block can now take roof panels within the same height limits as a house, with the conservation-area exclusion limited to walls. Planning is only one part of the picture for a block, because the building owner has to agree and the wiring is more involved; both are covered on flats and solar.
Panels in the garden
Panels mounted on their own frame in a garden fall under Class B. The ceiling is an array area of 9 m², and within it, and within conditions that govern siting and height, no application is needed. Nine square metres takes only a handful of panels, so a garden array under Class B is small. A bigger array needs planning permission. For a listed building, check with the council before planning anything in its grounds.
Plug-in solar
The amended rules treat plug-in solar, small kits that connect through a socket, as solar PV. Timber walls, balconies and enclosures are off limits for it, as are timber-clad parts of a building. For flats and rented homes, planning is rarely the main hurdle; the lease or tenancy usually needs written permission first, as renting in Crewe explains.
Article 4 directions
A council can remove some permitted development rights in a defined area by making an Article 4 direction. Where one applies, work that would otherwise need no application does need one. Directions are usually made to protect the character of a particular place. If your home is in or near a conservation area, ask the council whether a direction covers it before relying on permitted development.
Measuring the 0.2 m limit
The 0.2 m figure is measured from the surface of the roof slope to the outermost part of the panel. Panels mounted on standard rails, parallel to the slope, normally sit well inside it. Frames that tilt panels up to a steeper angle on a pitched roof usually do not, and would need planning permission. On a flat roof the frames can tilt the panels, but nothing may stand more than 0.6 m above the roof. Ask the firm to confirm in writing that the design keeps within these limits.
A certificate for peace of mind
Where it is not obvious whether a project falls within permitted development, a household can ask the council for a lawful development certificate for proposed work. It is not compulsory, and there is a fee, but it gives a formal answer before any panels go up and a document to hand to a buyer’s solicitor later. It can be worth considering on a building close to a conservation area boundary, a flat roof, or a home that has been altered in ways that make the rules harder to read.
Other consents to keep in mind
Planning is separate from building regulations. The roof must be able to carry the panels, and the electrical work must meet the wiring rules and be notified properly; a firm should explain how it handles both. A lease, a tenancy or a mortgage may also require consent. Landlords have extra considerations, set out on landlords and solar.
A planning check for any Crewe home
- Is the building listed? Search the National Heritage List, and treat the railway-cottage terraces as listed.
- Is it in a conservation area? Check the council’s list and maps; Crewe Green is the one this guide found at Crewe.
- Does an Article 4 direction apply? Ask the council if in doubt.
- Will the panels stay within 0.2 m of a pitched roof and below its highest part, or within 0.6 m on a flat roof?
- Is it a block of flats, a garden array or a plug-in kit? Each has its own conditions.
Terraced and semi-detached roofs raise their own layout questions, covered on terraced houses and semi-detached roofs. Buyers of a home with panels should ask what consent was obtained, as buying a home with solar explains. Before signing anything, read choosing an installer, and send a planning question about a particular address through the question form.