Planning Permission for Solar Panels on Agricultural Land

Can you put solar panels on agricultural land?

Yes. Farms have two routes. Rooftop solar on existing agricultural buildings — barns, grain stores, livestock sheds — is permitted development in most cases, so you can install without a planning application provided the building is not listed and the array meets the Class J limits. Ground-mounted solar on the land itself is also allowed, but needs full planning permission: the larger the array, the more scrutiny, especially on high-grade farmland. Many farms combine the two — use the barn roofs first, then add a ground mount or an agrivoltaic scheme where land and grid capacity allow. For the roof route in detail see solar panels on farm buildings, and for fields see ground-mounted solar for farms.

Do you need planning permission for farm solar?

It depends on the type of installation, its location and its size. Roof-mounted panels on existing agricultural buildings in England generally qualify as permitted development under Part 14, Class J of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015. Ground-mounted arrays on agricultural land need planning permission above the small Class K allowance. The rules differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which run their own planning systems.

Permitted development rights for agricultural buildings

Under Class J, solar panels may be installed on the roof of an agricultural or other non-domestic building if they protrude no more than 0.2 m beyond the plane of a pitched roof, rise no more than 1 m above the highest part of a flat roof, and sit at least 1 m back from the roof's external edge. The old capacity cap was omitted on 21 December 2023, but arrays above microgeneration size (50 kW) need prior approval from the council on their design and external appearance, including glare. Class J does not apply to a listed building, a building within the curtilage of a listed building or a scheduled monument: listed buildings usually need listed building consent as well as planning permission, and scheduled monuments need scheduled monument consent. On designated (article 2(3)) land — conservation areas, National Parks, National Landscapes, the Broads and World Heritage Sites — the extra restriction applies to wall-mounted equipment fronting a highway, not to roofs. For the full rules and timescales see planning permission for farm solar.

Ground-mounted solar on agricultural land

Permitted development for stand-alone solar on non-domestic land is Class K: one array per curtilage, no more than 9 m² of panels, no dimension over 3 m, no more than 4 m high and at least 5 m from the boundary. Anything larger — which means any array sized to run a farm — needs full planning permission from the local planning authority, up to 100 MW; above that, onshore solar in England is a nationally significant infrastructure project (since 31 December 2025). The application has to show that the site is suitable, that landscape impact has been designed down and that alternatives have been considered. Councils are particularly cautious about best and most versatile land (grades 1, 2 and 3a under the Agricultural Land Classification). The government's Solar Roadmap (June 2025) says lower-quality land should be preferred where agricultural land is needed, and that proposals on BMV land must justify it and avoid, mitigate and, where necessary, compensate for impacts; councils must consult Natural England on proposals likely to lose 20 hectares or more of BMV land that are not in line with the development plan.

The planning application process

A planning application for solar on agricultural land typically includes a planning statement setting out the proposal and policy context; a design and access statement; a landscape and visual impact assessment; an agricultural land classification survey confirming the land grade; an ecological assessment and a biodiversity net gain assessment; a heritage statement if listed buildings or scheduled monuments are nearby; a flood risk assessment in flood zones 2 or 3; and usually a glint and glare study. Pre-application advice from the council is strongly recommended — councils charge for it, so check your council's fee schedule. The statutory decision period is 8 weeks for most applications, 13 weeks for major development (which includes sites of 1 hectare or more) and 16 weeks where an environmental statement is needed.

Improving the chances of approval

Choose lower-grade agricultural land (grade 3b, 4 or 5) where you can. Show continued agricultural use — sheep grazing between and beneath the rows is the most common UK approach. Plant native hedgerows to screen the site, keep set-backs from neighbouring homes and public footpaths, and use wildflower ground cover to help deliver biodiversity net gain. Engage early with neighbours and the parish council. And settle the grid connection early: the network operator's G99 offer decides whether the scheme can be built and at what size — see G98 and G99 explained.

Frequently asked questions