A Householders Guide for the Installation of Satellite Dishes
A Householders Guide for the Installation of Satellite Dishes
This section helps with siting to avoid planning difficulties. If you have any doubts you can look at our Planning Section.
Advice before installation:
- Check you don't need the landlord's, or owner's consent.
- Check you don't need planning permission or listed building consent. All dishes on listed buildings need listed building consent.
- Use reputable and authorised installers.
- Try not to select a dish larger than the minimum required for good reception and try to site the dish in a discreet location. They can be very visible and intrusive.
- Avoid breaking the skyline with the dish and, whenever possible, don't site it in front of the house.
- Select a dish that blends in with its chosen background.
Don't forget that you are responsible for having it installed; poor siting could lead us to ask you to relocate the dish at your own expense. Technology continues to evolve so check out alternative systems.
The Consequence Of Poor Siting
Under current legislation, you are allowed to install a dish in the circumstance outlined below without planning permission but the condition exists that if the Council thinks a dish has been sited poorly, you may be asked to resite the dish. Also it is a condition that you remove any dish which is no longer needed, for example if you change from a dish to a cable system.
If you refuse to relocate a badly sited dish, the Council may:
- Ask you to submit a planning application on the basis that the impact of the dish on the external appearance of the building has not been minimised.
- Serve you with an enforcement notice requiring the siting of the dish to be altered in a specified way.
You can appeal against refusal or an enforcement notice. Grounds for appeal would include your reasons why the chosen location is reasonable or why measures required to be taken are excessive or costly. Failure to comply with an enforcement notice is an offence leading to a fine, unless you have successfully appealed.
Planning Regulations
The planning regulations for antennas within the General Permitted Development Order 1995 (GPDO) relate to:
- Dwelling houses (Part 1, Class H of the GPDO)
- Buildings 15m or more in height (Part 25, Class A of the GPDO)
- Buildings below 15m in height (Part 25, Class B of the GPDO)
The Order was amended by Statutory Instrument 2935/2005, and came into force on the 25th November 2005.
Any reference to 'antennas' should be taken as referring to both microwave and satellite antennas. Most TV aerials (including their mountings and poles) have not been considered as being development, and therefore do not required planning consent.
Designated areas referred to in the tables shown below include Conservation Areas, Areas of Natural Beauty, the National Parks, and the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads. There are separate controls for work affecting listed buildings. The installation of antennas on a listed building will usually require listed building consent.
Dwelling Houses
The regulations relating to antennas on dwelling houses are contained in the following table:
|
Number of antenna(s) |
Up to 2 Antennas are permitted. |
|---|---|
|
Size of Antenna(s) |
Single antennas are permitted to be up to 100cm in length. For 2 antennas, one is permitted to be up to 100cm in length; any second antenna is limited to 60cm in length. Chimney-mounted antennas are limited to 60cm in length. All antennas should be no greater than 35 litres cubic capacity. |
|
Location restrictions |
In dwelling houses which have a chimney stack: antennas should not protrude above the highest part of the roof by more than 60cm or the highest part of the chimney, whichever is the lower. In dwelling houses without a chimney stack: antennas should not protrude above the highest part of the roof. Antennas should not protrude above the highest point of the chimney. |
|
Restrictions in Designated Areas |
Antennas are not permitted on a chimney, wall or roof slope which faces onto and is visible from a road or a Broads waterway. |
Antennas on buildings under 15m in height
The regulations relating to antennas on buildings under 15m in height (but not dwelling houses) are contained in the following table:
|
Number of antenna(s) |
Up to 2 antennas are permitted. |
|---|---|
|
Size of antenna(s) |
Single antennas are permitted to be up to 100cm in length. For 2 antennas, only one is permitted to be up to 100cm in length; any second antenna is limited to 60cm in length. Chimney-mounted antennas are limited to 60cm in length. All antennas should be no greater than 35 litres cubic capacity. |
|
Location restrictions |
In buildings with a chimney stack; antennas should not exceed the highest part of the roof by more than 60cm, or the highest part of the chimney, whichever is the lower. In buildings without a chimney stack: antennas should not exceed the highest part of the roof. Antennas should not protrude above the highest point of the chimney. |
|
Restrictions in Designated Areas |
Antennas are not permitted on a chimney, wall or roof slope which faces onto and is visible from, a road or a Broads waterway. |
Antennas on Buildings 15m or more in height
The regulations relating to antennas on buildings 15m in height or more are contained in the following table:
|
Number of antenna(s) |
Up to 4 antennas are permitted. |
|---|---|
|
Size of antenna(s) |
All antennas are permitted to be up to 130cm in length. Chimney-mounted antennas are limited to 60cm in length. All antennas should be no greater than 35 litres cubic capacity. |
|
Location restrictions |
Antennas should not exceed the highest part of the roof by more than 300cm. |
|
Restrictions in Designated Areas |
Antennas are not permitted on a chimney, wall or roof slope which faces onto and is visible from a road or a Broads waterway. |
Minimising the impact
Take account of the impact of the dish on neighbours and the street. The installer may be able to advise you on line of sight in different locations. Also:
- A white dish may blend against a white background but may be conspicuous against darker backgrounds;
- A mesh or transparent dish may be less obtrusive than a solid one;
- The location of a dish on a rear wall of a building or in a garden is usually less conspicuous than siting it on the front of the building;
- The performance of a dish is not affected by whether it is located higher up or lower down on a building, as long as the line-of-sight with the satellite is not affected;
- A small dish hidden behind a parapet or a chimney stack may be less conspicuous than one on the wall
Choice of suppliers and installers
Check suppliers and installers are familiar with the planning aspects of installation. Reputable installers have agreed standards for their work, in some cases guaranteed by their company; they should also be covered by Public liability and Employer's Liability insurance.
Obtain quotations for alternative siting options and costs (e.g. on rear wall) prior to installation. Remember, the cheapest installation option may not be the most environmentally acceptable.
Alternatives to individual dishes
If you live in a tower block, a small block of flats, or a terrace of houses, it may be possible to receive satellite TV broadcasts without each household installing dishes. Shared dish systems and communal satellite systems can help especially if planning permission is unlikely to be granted for several dishes on a single building or where landlords or owners have prohibited individual dishes. There may already be a communal system so it's worth checking.
Cable is also worth considering where your building does not have a line-of-sight; where planning permission for a dish is not granted; where a shared system is not feasible or you do not wish to have the dish on the outside of your property.