Salisbury is the most heritage-constrained place we work. Wiltshire has around 245 conservation areas, the former Salisbury district alone holds approximately 3,000 listed buildings, and much of the city centre is itself a conservation area because of its historic chequer street pattern. Outside the city, the villages are where the real opportunity sits — and where Wiltshire Council has been running grant schemes aimed squarely at homes off the mains gas grid.
Wiltshire Council is the planning authority for Salisbury and almost all of the surrounding area — but not quite all of it, and the exception is worth knowing before you apply to the wrong body.
A south-facing Salisbury roof at around 35° generates roughly 1,046 kWh per year for every kWp installed — about 4,184 kWh from a 4 kWp array. Inland and a touch further north than the coast, so around 11% behind Chichester, but ahead of Basingstoke, Guildford and Andover.
In the villages, the more useful number is often not generation but what you're currently paying to heat an off-grid house.
| 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.
You don't need a statistic to know that the villages around Salisbury run on oil and LPG — but the council's own behaviour makes the point better than a percentage would.
Wiltshire Council secured more than £3.6m of government funding to retrofit up to 210 Wiltshire homes, explicitly targeting properties "not connected to mains gas" in EPC bands D–G. A separate £1.7m programme with EDF covered up to 86 more homes, described as being for residents on low incomes in off-gas properties, funding heat pumps and solar PV.
Wiltshire also records that 15% of its homes are in the lowest energy efficiency bands E–G, against a national picture where that is unusual — and 9.5% of Wiltshire households were estimated to be in fuel poverty in 2023.
Wiltshire Council's own settlement statement is explicit: Salisbury is "situated on the River Avon, at the confluence of five rivers", and "development at Salisbury must avoid flood-risk areas — these are zones 2 and 3". It also flags the ecological integrity of the River Avon system as a specific environmental limit.
Rooftop solar is unaffected. A heat pump's outdoor unit, condensate run and electrical isolation all sit outside at low level, so on a riverside property they want siting with the flood zone in mind rather than wherever the pipe run is shortest.
Salisbury city, Downton, Alderbury, Wilton, Amesbury, the Woodfords, Coombe Bissett and the Chalke Valley villages. Every installation is MCS accredited.
Aiko ABC panels. In a city where so much of the centre is conservation area or listed, the design job is finding the slopes that work — rear elevations, outbuildings, garages — and getting real output from them. Outside the city, village roofs are usually far less constrained.
Solar panels →Grant, Midea and Daikin. This is where Salisbury's villages have most to gain: replacing oil or LPG attracts up to £9,000 of BUS grant, and the running-cost gap against oil is at its widest on exactly these properties. Older stone and brick cottages need a proper heat loss survey first, and we do one.
Heat pumps →Tesla Powerwall 3, Fox ESS and SigenEnergy. On a rural supply a battery does double duty: shifting cheap overnight rate into the peak, and taking the edge off a network that isn't always as firm as an urban one.
Battery storage →If you live in the city centre, probably. Wiltshire Council states that much of the city centre is a conservation area owing to the historic chequer pattern of streets, and Wiltshire has around 245 conservation areas in total. Inside one, panels on a wall or roof slope forming the principal elevation and fronting a highway need planning permission. There are approximately 3,000 listed buildings in the former Salisbury district and around 12,000 across Wiltshire; listed building consent is required separately and applies regardless of permitted development rights. Village properties outside a conservation area are usually far less constrained.
Wiltshire Council for Salisbury and almost all the surrounding area — but not all of it. Since 2006 the New Forest National Park Authority has been the sole planning authority for the whole National Park, including roughly 30 square kilometres of southern Wiltshire that lies within it. If you are south of Salisbury toward Landford or Redlynch, confirm which authority covers you before anything is submitted. Cranborne Chase National Landscape also extends close to the south and west of the city, though designation alone does not remove permitted development rights for roof solar.
If your home is off the gas grid and currently heated by oil or LPG, yes. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme pays £7,500 towards an air source heat pump, with an extra £1,500 for off-grid homes replacing oil or LPG — up to £9,000, available until March 2027. Wiltshire Council has run dedicated programmes for exactly these homes: more than £3.6m of government funding to retrofit up to 210 properties not connected to mains gas in EPC bands D to G, and a separate £1.7m scheme with EDF covering up to 86 more. As an MCS certified installer we submit the voucher application ourselves and deduct the grant from your invoice.
About 1,046 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 4,184 kWh from a 4 kWp array. Salisbury is inland and slightly further north than the coast, so it produces around 11% less than Chichester, but more than Basingstoke, Guildford or Andover.
It affects siting. Wiltshire Council's own settlement statement notes Salisbury sits at the confluence of five rivers and that development must avoid flood-risk zones 2 and 3. Rooftop solar is unaffected, but a heat pump's outdoor unit, condensate run and electrical isolation all sit outside at low level, so on a riverside property they should be positioned with the flood zone in mind rather than wherever the pipe run is shortest. We check the zone before specifying.
Often, but only on the basis of a real heat loss survey rather than a rule of thumb. Wiltshire records that 15% of its homes sit in the lowest energy efficiency bands, E to G, and solid stone or brick walls lose heat faster than cavity construction. That usually means larger emitters so the system can run at a low flow temperature. We calculate room by room, price any emitter changes into the quote, and tell you plainly where a property needs fabric work before a heat pump is the right answer.
Required to claim the BUS grant and to register for the Smart Export Guarantee. We are also RECC members.
Off-grid oil and LPG properties are where the biggest savings are, and where the £9,000 grant applies.
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 confirm your conservation area, listing and planning authority, check the flood zone, and tell you exactly what the grant is worth on your property.
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