A south London man has described his incredulity after Merton council ordered him to remove his solar panels – flying in the face of attempts to tackle the climate crisis and in spite of the fact his neighbour has had some on their roof for more than 10 years.
In 2019, Merton council declared a climate emergency and said the borough would become net zero by 2050. But that hasn’t stopped council officials ordering Syd Reid, who lives in Wimbledon, remove his panels because his property is in a conservation area.
A year ago he put up photovoltaic panels on his south-facing roof at the front of his home in an effort to reduce the property’s carbon footprint without realising he needed planning permission to do so. He had been assured, wrongly, by the installer that he didn’t.
“I did a cursory investigation but somehow missed the conservation area rules,” he said. “The main reason I thought I would be fine was that our immediate neighbour has had almost identical south-facing solar panels on their roof for more than 10 years.
“What’s happened since has been something out of the dark ages. Someone has complained and the council has ordered them to be taken down. It’s as if the climate crisis isn’t happening.”
In 2008, the government removed the need for most people to get planning permission to install photovoltaic solar energy systems but the requirement for permission was retained in conservation areas and for all listed buildings.
After Reid received an order from Merton’s planning department instructing him to take the panels down, he submitted an application for retrospective planning, only for this to be rejected. He said he appealed against that decision but this, too, has been turned down.
He said the decision is all the more baffling given that the road that he lives on features a mixture of house styles and roof types. Not even the road’s greatest fan would describe it in any way as architecturally extraordinary, or important.
“While the panels have been up I have reduced my carbon emissions by over 400kg,” he said.
“The whole thing is madness – a combination of nimbyism and inconsistent, out-of-date planning bureaucracy that is failing to recognise the state [in which] we are leaving the planet. This has to be changed.
“Our neighbour’s panels have been producing electricity for 10 years without upsetting anyone but mine have to come down. If I wish to maintain my level of carbon emissions reduction I have been advised that the only course of action left is to take my case to the high court.”
A spokesperson for Merton council told Guardian Money that while installing solar panels is “generally to be applauded”, the council also has a duty to protect the “character” of the local area.
“The standards of design that have to be met will always be higher in conservation areas,” he said.
He said two other houses in the road have approved solar panels but on north-facing roofs, rather missing the point that they will produce significantly less power than they would on a south-facing roof.
“We don’t want to put residents off installing carbon saving measures,” the spokesperson said. “Our planning officers are here to work with them to achieve developments that are compliant with our planning policy. There are other options which might have less of a visual impact, such as low-profile PVs or the use of solar tiles.”
Meanwhile, it now looks likely that Reid’s neighbour could be forced to remove their panels, too.
“We have not looked into this yet as no formal complaint was raised. However, our officers will now look to inspect and regularise those solar panels,” the Merton spokesperson said.
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