Antennas on Houses and Buildings Under 15 Metres High

Good news! You often won't need planning permission to put up an antenna on your house or a building that stands less than 15 metres tall. This generally applies unless your property was originally developed using specific 'permitted development' rights for 'Changes of use' or 'New Dwellinghouses'. Even then, you must also satisfy all the following conditions:

• Your property can have a maximum of two antennas in total. You are allowed to place these on the front or rear of the building, on the roof, attached to a chimney, or even within your garden.

• If you plan to install just one antenna, its longest dimension (known as its linear dimension) must not exceed 100 centimetres. This measurement does not include any projecting feed element, its reinforcing rim, or the mounting and brackets.

• Should you be installing two antennas, one can have a maximum linear dimension of 100 centimetres, while the other must be no larger than 60 centimetres in any linear dimension. Again, these figures exclude any projecting feed element, reinforcing rim, mounting, and brackets.

• Each individual antenna must have a total volume (its cubic capacity) that is no more than 35 litres.

• An antenna that you attach to a chimney stack must not be more than 60 centimetres in any linear dimension.

• If you mount an antenna on the roof, it can only extend above the roofline if there is a chimney stack present. In such a case, the antenna should not rise higher than 60 centimetres above the roof's highest point, or above the highest part of the chimney stack, whichever of these two heights is lower.

Additional Rules for Designated Areas

Are you located in a special designated area? This includes specific places like a conservation area, a National Park, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Norfolk or Suffolk Broads, or a World Heritage Site. If your property falls into one of these categories, you must adhere to all the general rules mentioned above, plus these extra restrictions:

• You cannot install an antenna on a chimney, a wall, or any part of the roof that directly faces a road or a Broads waterway and is visible from it. If you're unsure whether this rule applies to your specific location, always consult your local planning authority for guidance.

If your antenna installation doesn't completely comply with every single one of these requirements, then you will definitely need to apply for planning permission.