Solar panels in Hammersmith and Fulham: terraces, mansion blocks and a council keen on solar

Hammersmith and Fulham is one of the most flat-dominated boroughs in the country. It has dense Victorian and Edwardian terraces from Brook Green to Parsons Green, mansion blocks across Fulham and West Kensington, and 44 conservation areas. Whether solar is simple here usually depends on two things: what kind of building you live in, and which street it is on.

Most homes here are flats

At the 2021 Census, 75% of the borough's dwellings were flats or maisonettes, one of the highest shares in England. Since 27 August 2026, blocks of flats have had permitted development rights for solar for the first time. The right belongs to the block, so the freeholder or management company makes the decision, not an individual flat owner. Mansion blocks can work well because their roofs are often large and shared. The council has already considered solar on a Fulham mansion block in a conservation area: for Quenington Mansions in 2024, officers recommended approval and judged the energy benefits to outweigh the limited heritage impact. If you own a flat, the first step is usually a conversation with your managing agent or freeholder.

44 conservation areas and what they mean for your roof

The borough's conservation areas include The Mall on the riverside, St Peter's Square, Ravenscourt and Starch Green, Brook Green, Barons Court, Parsons Green, Walham Green, Moore Park and the Gunter Estate. Under the national rules, the restriction in a conservation area or World Heritage Site applies to panels on a wall fronting a highway, not to a roof slope. Panels on a pitched roof, including a front roof slope, are normally permitted development as long as they sit no more than 0.2 m proud of the roof and below the ridge. Since 27 August 2026, a flat roof in a conservation area needs a short prior approval application to the council first.

Where the council does look at a scheme, its 2018 planning guidance asks for panels to be integrated into the building's design and placed in the least intrusive locations. Around 500 buildings in the borough are listed, and these need planning permission and listed building consent. Read more in our guide to planning permission for solar panels in London.

Article 4 directions: watch the roofing, not just the panels

The council's published list of Article 4 directions covers streets in areas such as The Mall, St Peter's Square, Ravenscourt and Starch Green, Parsons Green, Studdridge Street, Hammersmith Grove and Fulham Park Gardens. Every direction on that list was made before 2008, when householder solar rights were introduced, so none of them can have removed those rights. Some of them do control roofs, though. The Fulham Park Gardens direction covers changes to roof coverings, and the direction for The Cottages on Fulham Palace Road covers roof alterations and roof covering materials. If your roof needs replacing before panels go on, that roofing work may need permission even when the solar does not. See whether you need a new roof before solar. We check the designations and any direction for your address before we quote.

A proposed borough-wide solar order

In 2024 the council approved a draft Local Development Order for rooftop solar across the borough, along with a separate order that would allow suitable solar on listed buildings, and consulted on both in early 2025. Under the proposal, owners would submit basic details to the council instead of making a full planning application. We could not confirm from council sources whether the orders have been adopted, so we check the current position for each property.

Connecting to the grid

The whole borough is served by UK Power Networks. Most domestic systems are notified after installation. Larger systems, and many mansion block or commercial roofs, need approval before they connect. We handle the DNO paperwork as part of the installation. Our guide to DNOs and export limits explains the process.

If you live in Hammersmith, Fulham or Shepherd's Bush and want to know what your roof or block could support, request a solar and battery quotation. We will check your property's designations first.

Local planning information checked against London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham sources on 27 October 2026. Planning designations change, so this is general guidance, not advice for a specific property.