Solar panels, heat pumps and insulation in LINGFIELD (High St/Gun Pond/Church Town) conservation area
In the LINGFIELD (High St/Gun Pond/Church Town) conservation area (Tandridge), 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 25 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. 139 homes inside the boundary have an energy certificate: 18.7% are solid-wall homes with no wall insulation, 93.5% heat with a gas boiler and 65.5% 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
139homes with an energy certificate
18.7%solid walls, no insulation
93.5%heated by a gas boiler
0heat pumps
Article 4: Tandridge 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 LINGFIELD (High St/Gun Pond/Church Town)
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: 25 in the area (grade I: 3, II*: 6). 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: 29% 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 = 139)
Walls
Homes
Share
Cavity wall, unfilled
41
29.5%
Cavity wall, insulated (as built or unspecified)
26
18.7%
Solid wall (brick or stone), no insulation
26
18.7%
Cavity wall, filled
14
10.1%
Timber frame
13
9.4%
Cavity wall, partly insulated
10
7.2%
Modern wall (U-value from the design)
7
5.0%
Cavity wall, internal or external insulation
1
0.7%
Solid wall, internal insulation
1
0.7%
Heating
Homes
Share
Gas boiler
130
93.5%
Electric (storage heaters, panels, boiler)
7
5.0%
Communal heating
2
1.4%
Loft / roof insulation
Homes
Share
No insulation
20
14.4%
Under 200 mm
50
36.0%
200 mm or more
35
25.2%
Insulated (depth not recorded)
20
14.4%
Flat or other home above
7
5.0%
Other
7
5.0%
Windows
Homes
Share
Double glazed
120
86.3%
Single glazed
12
8.6%
Secondary glazing
7
5.0%
BCDE
Energy rating: A 1 (0.7%) · B 12 (8.6%) · C 35 (25.2%) · D 53 (38.1%) · E 28 (20.1%) · F 9 (6.5%) · G 1 (0.7%). Houses and bungalows: 71% of the homes; solar panels on 0.7% of the certificates. Most common build period on the certificates: before 1900. Designated: 27 March 1998.
Compared with Tandridge and England
Share of homes
LINGFIELD (High St/Gun Pond/Church Town)
All 19 areas in Tandridge
England
Solid walls, no insulation
18.7%
36.5%
48.7%
Gas boiler
93.5%
85.3%
66.4%
Rated D–G
65.5%
—
56.5%
Caveats
Certificates describe a home when it was assessed; 48% of these are from 2020 or later (latest 26 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 Tandridge if in doubt.
Boundary: Tandridge District Council via planning.data.gov.uk (entity 44001885, reference TDC_CA_00012, 18.7 ha); the council's appraisal or map. Homes are placed by the coordinates of their UPRN (OS Open UPRN); addresses are not shown.