Basingstoke has an unusual combination: more conservation areas than any other single district in Hampshire — the council's own claim — alongside tens of thousands of homes built between the 1950s and 1970s as London overspill. Those post-war estates are some of the most heat-pump-ready housing stock we work with, and 83.3% of the borough's homes are houses rather than flats.
The council's own local plan evidence describes how the town "developed rapidly between the 1950s and 1970s to accommodate part of the London overspill", following designation as an expanded town in the 1960s. The borough now holds approximately 79,000 dwellings, having added 8,125 since 2011 — an 11.5% increase.
The composition matters as much as the volume: 83.3% houses and 16.4% flats, a higher proportion of houses than the South East as a whole, with 27% of households in homes of four bedrooms or more.
A south-facing Basingstoke roof at around 35° generates roughly 1,031 kWh per year for every kWp installed — about 4,126 kWh from a 4 kWp array. That is tenth of the eleven towns we cover; only Guildford is lower. Basingstoke is the furthest north of our Hampshire patch and well inland.
We'd rather be straight about that. The compensation is roof size — with most of the borough in houses rather than flats, and 27% with four or more bedrooms, a larger array is usually available, and total output is what pays your bills rather than output per kWp.
| Town | kWh per kWp / year |
|---|---|
| Chichester | 1,175 |
| Portsmouth | 1,124 |
| Fareham | 1,117 |
| Bournemouth | 1,100 |
| Poole | 1,097 |
| Southampton | 1,080 |
| Salisbury | 1,046 |
| Winchester | 1,038 |
| Andover | 1,037 |
| Basingstoke | 1,031 |
| Guildford | 1,023 |
Source: European Commission PVGIS (v5.2), south-facing, 35° pitch, 14% system losses. Your own figure will differ with shading, pitch, orientation and roof area — the survey gives you a property-specific number, not this one.
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council is the planning authority for the whole borough — no National Park, no National Landscape authority. Jurisdictionally it is the cleanest place we work. The conservation areas are another matter.
Beyond the town, the borough takes in Overton, Whitchurch, Bramley, Kingsclere, Oakley and Old Basing, plus what the council calls "a scattered network of smaller villages and hamlets" — and a greater proportion of large dwellings in those smaller settlements.
The council's own grants page confirms the headline: "£9,000 is available towards air source and ground source heat pumps if replacing LPG or oil boilers" under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, alongside £7,500 for homes on mains gas. The scheme runs until March 2027.
As an MCS certified installer we submit the voucher application ourselves and deduct the grant from your invoice — you never pay the full amount and claim it back.
Basingstoke town, Old Basing, Chineham, Oakley, Overton, Whitchurch, Bramley, Kingsclere and the surrounding villages. Every installation is MCS accredited.
Aiko ABC panels. With the region's second-lowest yield per kWp but generous roof areas, Basingstoke is a town where sizing up pays — the marginal panel still earns, and the roof is usually there to take it.
Solar panels →Grant, Midea and Daikin. The post-war and later estates are among the most straightforward retrofits we do — cavity walls, sensible pipework and external space for a unit. Village properties on oil or LPG attract up to £9,000 of BUS grant.
Heat pumps →Tesla Powerwall 3, Fox ESS and SigenEnergy. Larger houses consume more, so Basingstoke batteries tend to be sized for genuine evening load rather than as a small top-up — and overnight tariff shifting stacks on top.
Battery storage →The stock profile is favourable, though we still survey every property individually. The council's local plan evidence describes the town developing rapidly between the 1950s and 1970s to take part of the London overspill, and records approximately 79,000 dwellings in the borough, 83.3% of them houses rather than flats, with 27% having four or more bedrooms. Housing built from the late 1950s onward generally has cavity walls, more consistent insulation and pipework laid to modern conventions, which is what lets a heat pump run efficiently at a low flow temperature without wholesale emitter replacement. A build era makes a good outcome more likely; it does not guarantee one, so we calculate heat loss room by room regardless.
About 1,031 kWh per year for every kWp installed, on a south-facing roof pitched at around 35 degrees, according to the European Commission's PVGIS dataset — roughly 4,126 kWh from a 4 kWp array. That is tenth of the eleven towns we cover; only Guildford is lower, because Basingstoke is the furthest north of our Hampshire patch and well inland. The compensation is roof size: with most of the borough in houses rather than flats, a larger array is usually available, and total output is what pays your bills.
In most of the town, no — roof solar is normally permitted development and the estates built during the expansion years overwhelmingly fall into that category. But check your address first. The council states there are now more than 40 conservation areas in the borough, the largest number for any single district in Hampshire, with published appraisals covering 43 areas including Basingstoke Town, Fairfields, South View, Brookvale West, Old Basing, Overton, Whitchurch and Kingsclere.
An Article 4 Direction removes permitted development rights, meaning a planning application is needed for work that would otherwise be automatic. In Basingstoke and Deane they apply in four places: Fairfields, South View, Brookvale West and Basingstoke Town Centre. If your address is in one of those, assume an application is needed and build it into the timeline. The borough also has over 1,800 listed buildings and nearly 600 locally listed ones; listed building consent is separate from planning permission.
If your home is off the gas grid and heated by oil or LPG, yes. The council's own grants page confirms that £9,000 is available towards air source and ground source heat pumps when replacing LPG or oil boilers under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, alongside £7,500 for homes on mains gas. The scheme runs until March 2027. The borough takes in Overton, Whitchurch, Bramley, Kingsclere, Oakley and Old Basing plus a scattered network of smaller villages, which is where off-grid heating is concentrated. As an MCS certified installer we submit the voucher application and deduct the grant from your invoice.
Basingstoke is in SSEN's SEPD area. Up to 3.68 kW per phase the G98 process applies with no wait — we install, commission and notify SSEN within 28 days. Above that a G99 application must be approved first, with a network study and a connection quote; with Basingstoke's larger roofs more systems land above the threshold than in the terraced towns. SSEN also requires prior approval where the same installer has connected generation at another property in the same postcode area within the previous 28 days, which on a uniform post-war estate comes up constantly.
Required to claim the BUS grant and to register for the Smart Export Guarantee. We are also RECC members.
Which means you own your roof outright — no freeholder, no management company.
Family-run, with directly employed engineers. The people who survey your property are the people who install.
Survey to sign-off in one price, including scaffolding and the grid application. No hidden extras.
We will check whether you are in a conservation area or one of the four Article 4 areas, calculate your heat loss properly, and tell you what the grant is worth on your property.
Book a Free Survey →