Heat pump restrictions are finally being removed in Wales

So the Welsh Assembly Government  (WAG) is finally scrapping the crazy 3 meters from a boundary rule pertaining to the permitted development rights of householders, and the requirement for them to apply for planning permission in advance if they wish to install an air-source heat pump on their property. If the proposed location is less than 3m from a neighbour, which is a substantial proportion of homes in Wales.

Obviously, this is fantastic news for people here, as approximately 800,000 people live in the nations stock of 358,000 terraced houses, for whom the majority would have fallen would of the 3m rule and therefore be required to go through and onerous and expensive planning process, just to be able to heat their home with the most economical and environmentally friendly way presently available.

I can personally testify to just how frustrating this rule was. Ive wanted to get a heat pump installed on my own property for some time now, but bhave een deterred by the complex procedure involved, requiring architects’ drawings, environmental and biodiversity impact assessments, consultation with neighbours and lengthy bureaucratic forms and procedures, to say nothing of an exorbitant application fee amounting to hundreds of pounds. 

Nearly 2 years ago I paid my planning fee to get the ball rolling, but ultimately the application stalled due to all the hassle involved not being worth it, considering the planning consultation on permitted development rights had been announced, and that scrapping the requirement for planning approval for heat pumps situated within 3m of a neighboring property was one of the proposed amendments, and so it made more sense to wait a little while, knowing that if the scheme´s architects had any sense whatsoever, that would inevitably be one of the changes to be brought in.

Its was over three years ago that we wrote to the Welsh Assembly Government questioning the wisdom of this rule, especially considering the

Governments own target of 580,000 heat pump installations by 2035. If just a quarter of the 65,000 new installations required each year to meet the target required planning permission, could the planning system even handle the additional 15 – 20,000 applications this would entail? And these greater or lesser administrative encumbrances aside, in light of the urgent environmental and moral necessity of transitioning to a low-carbon economy, why would a government impose any planning impediment to doing the right thing? If the planning rules are sufficiently labyrinthine to deter a committed environmentalist who was sold an awful long time ago on the iron-cast financial case for installing a heat pump, despite the high upfront costs, what chance does the government have of reaching its statutory targets when these demand widespread take-up amongst all sectors of society, not just the enlightened and financially savvy?

So we welcome this news wholeheartedly, although I can’t for the life of me reason why the consultation reviews recommendations won´t take effect immediately, instead coming into effect only towards the end of April. From a personal standpoint, I´ll miss out on many months of savings, amounting to hundreds of pounds I’ll never be able to get back. It pains me to tell people I’m on gas, considering what I believe in and do for a living. Still, it won’t be for long now, though. This will be my last winter of sky-high bills and throwing good money after bad, and hopefully that will be the case also for tens of thousands of other Welsh homeowners. There was only 5000 or so heat pumps installed throughout Wales in 2025, a derisible number given the compelling economic case and a planet under severe climate stress, so the fact that the WAG has belatedly made it significantly easier for nearly 400,00 extra householders to get one installed, is most definitely a step in the right direction, which will improve things a great deal. A long overdue victory for common sense!