Solar looks different when the roof is part of a protected place. Therefore, these five areas are where we focus our design guides. Each page explains the planning context, the local roofscape and the systems that suit.
We chose them for three reasons. First, they hold a very high density of heritage. Second, they contain many conservation areas, where the rules on visible roofs are tighter. Third, they see a lot of self-build and renovation work, so owners and architects often ask how solar can fit.
In the capital, our guide to solar for London’s conservation areas and Article 4 streets covers borough rules in a city of listed terraces. Bath is different, because the whole city is a World Heritage Site. Read about solar for Bath’s listed Georgian terraces before you plan a visible roof.
North of the border, the rules change again. We explain solar for Edinburgh’s Old and New Towns and the separate Scottish planning system. Meanwhile, solar for Oxford’s historic core and conservation areas looks at stone slate, college streets and careful suburbs.
Finally, the countryside needs its own approach. See solar in the Cotswolds National Landscape for stone slate roofs, listed cottages and protected views.
Our studio is national, and we work by appointment. We do not run local offices. Instead, we study your drawings and photographs, and we design for the building in front of us.
We also work anywhere in England, Scotland and Wales by appointment. However, if your home sits outside these five areas, the same design approach applies. Planning rules differ between nations, so we check the right ones for your address.
Whichever area you live in, the first step is simple. Send us your drawings and tell us about the roof. Then we will say honestly whether solar suits it and which system to consider first.
Send us your drawings or a few photographs. Then we will tell you what is achievable, because every roof is different.