Solar panels, heat pumps and insulation in St Albans - London Road conservation area
In the St Albans - London Road conservation area (St Albans), external wall insulation needs planning permission, and so does an air source heat pump on a wall or roof facing the road; one at the back or side, internal and loft insulation and solar panels on a roof slope normally do not. The area has 2 listed buildings; on a listed building solar panels and heat pumps are not permitted development at all and need planning permission and listed building consent. 933 homes inside the boundary have an energy certificate: 37.6% are solid-wall homes with no wall insulation, 61.5% heat with a gas boiler and 42.6% are rated D–G; 0 have a heat pump. EPC register November 2026; rules as at 21 October 2026.
Data: EPC register November 2026 (latest certificate per home), conservation area boundaries 3 November 2026, permitted development rules as at 21 October 2026 · calculated 5 November 2026 · Methodology and sources
933homes with an energy certificate
37.6%solid walls, no insulation
61.5%heated by a gas boiler
0heat pumps
Article 4: St Albans publishes its Article 4 areas on planning.data.gov.uk and none overlaps this area; a direction can still exist on paper, so check with the council.
What needs planning permission in St Albans - London Road
Work (house, not listed)
In a conservation area
Rule
Air source heat pump on a wall or roof facing the road, or nearer the road than the house
Planning permission needed
Part 14 Class G, G.1(j)
Air source heat pump at the back or side (outdoor unit up to 1.5 m³, MCS Planning Standards, one per house — two on a detached house)
No permission needed (permitted development)
Part 14 Class G
Solar panels on a pitched roof (up to 0.2 m proud, not above the ridge)
No permission needed (permitted development)
Part 14 Class A, A.2(c)
Solar panels on a wall, balcony or roof enclosure facing the road
Planning permission needed
Part 14 Class A, A.2(e)
Solar panels on a flat roof (up to 0.6 m above the roof)
Replacement windows and doors of similar appearance
No permission needed (permitted development)
Part 1 Class A, A.3(a)
Listed buildings: 2 in the area. The table is for houses that are not listed: on a listed building, solar panels and air source heat pumps are not permitted development at all (they need planning permission), and any of these works needs listed building consent.
Flats: 58% of the certified homes here are flats or maisonettes. Homes in a block of flats have no householder rights for alterations; heat pumps and solar have their own, tighter rules for blocks of flats.
The homes in the area (latest certificate per home, n = 933)
Walls
Homes
Share
Solid wall (brick or stone), no insulation
351
37.6%
Cavity wall, insulated (as built or unspecified)
321
34.4%
Modern wall (U-value from the design)
143
15.3%
Timber frame
36
3.9%
Cavity wall, filled
34
3.6%
Solid wall, internal insulation
16
1.7%
Solid wall, insulated
10
1.1%
Cavity wall, unfilled
9
1.0%
Cavity wall, partly insulated
6
0.6%
Other or not known
6
0.6%
Solid wall, external insulation
1
0.1%
Heating
Homes
Share
Gas boiler
574
61.5%
Electric (storage heaters, panels, boiler)
298
31.9%
Communal heating
60
6.4%
Solid fuel (wood, coal)
1
0.1%
Loft / roof insulation
Homes
Share
No insulation
81
8.7%
Under 200 mm
212
22.7%
200 mm or more
126
13.5%
Insulated (depth not recorded)
86
9.2%
Flat or other home above
318
34.1%
Other
110
11.8%
Windows
Homes
Share
Double glazed
893
95.7%
Single glazed
35
3.8%
Secondary glazing
4
0.4%
Triple glazed
1
0.1%
BCDE
Energy rating: B 128 (13.7%) · C 408 (43.7%) · D 283 (30.3%) · E 102 (10.9%) · F 10 (1.1%) · G 2 (0.2%). Houses and bungalows: 42% of the homes; solar panels on 0.0% of the certificates. Most common build period on the certificates: 1900-1929. Designated: 24 March 1969.
Compared with St Albans and England
Share of homes
St Albans - London Road
All 45 areas in St Albans
England
Solid walls, no insulation
37.6%
37.1%
48.7%
Gas boiler
61.5%
76.8%
66.4%
Rated D–G
42.6%
—
56.5%
Caveats
Certificates describe a home when it was assessed; 50% of these are from 2020 or later (latest 23 October 2026). “No insulation (assumed)” is the assessor's default for older walls.
The rules are England's national permitted development rules (General Permitted Development Order 2015, Schedule 2, as at 21 October 2026). They do not cover building regulations or a council's own conditions. This is not a planning decision: ask St Albans if in doubt.
Boundary: St Albans City and District Council via planning.data.gov.uk (entity 44010124, reference CA11_5a, 14.8 ha); the council's appraisal or map. Homes are placed by the coordinates of their UPRN (OS Open UPRN); addresses are not shown.