Planning answer
Do sun tunnels need planning permission?
Planning law reads a sun tunnel as a rooflight, because only the dome shows. So the outcome rests on your type of home, how far the dome stands above the roof, and a few things that can remove your rights.
The answer
On a house in England, a sun tunnel dome counts as a rooflight under Class C permitted development, so no application is needed if it projects no more than 150mm beyond the plane of the roof slope and sits no higher than the highest part of the roof. A flat or maisonette, a Tyneside flat included, has no such right, so a new tunnel there needs planning permission.
What must a house meet to avoid an application?
A dome that stands no more than 150mm proud of the roof slope and no higher than the highest part of the roof. On a side-elevation slope, the whole window must also be obscure-glazed.
A house gets the easier ride. A sun tunnel is a small fitting with a low dome, so it often sits well inside what the national rules allow.
The two limits
Class C allows a rooflight on a house if it projects no more than 150mm beyond the plane of the roof slope and sits no higher than the highest part of the roof. The dome and its base are the parts that rise from the slope, so those are what we measure against the 150mm figure.
The side slope
On a side-elevation roof slope, the whole window must be obscure-glazed. It must also be non-opening, unless the parts that open are more than 1.7 metres above the floor of the room. A sun tunnel dome does not open, so only the glazing needs thought. A frosted dome answers it, and we confirm which slope you mean before we promise anything.
I live in a Tyneside flat: where does that leave me?
A planning application to the council is needed, whatever the dome's height, because flats and maisonettes have no householder permitted development. Who owns the roof matters as well.
The law sees a Tyneside flat as a flat, and it treats the upstairs and the downstairs one alike. This is the single most useful local fact for anyone with a dark landing in a terrace conversion.
Applying
With no householder permitted development, a new sun tunnel needs a planning application. Your local planning authority could be Northumberland County Council, Durham County Council, Sunderland City Council, South Tyneside Council, North Tyneside Council, Gateshead Council or Newcastle City Council, depending on the address. You, or someone acting for you, submit drawings of the roof and the dome.
The roof is not only a planning matter
A permission does not decide who may alter a roof. Whether the neighbour above or below has any claim on the slope or the loft is a matter for your own title or lease. Check it, then have that conversation, before an order is placed. We cannot give legal advice on what your papers mean.
Which house is yours?
Upstairs flat
- Who decides
- You make the application, after talking to the downstairs owner if your lease or title gives them a part in the roof or its space.
- Which rules apply
- No householder permitted development. The council must grant planning permission, and the roof opening is notified to Building Control.
Downstairs flat
- Who decides
- You apply, consulting the upstairs owner where your papers place the roof, or the void above you, in their hands.
- Which rules apply
- No householder permitted development, so permission is needed. The roof of a back offshoot is the usual place for a tunnel.
House
- Who decides
- Usually you alone, though a covenant, or a condition on an earlier extension permission, may limit what you can alter.
- Which rules apply
- Class C applies if the dome stays within 150mm and below the highest part of the roof, unless Article 4 or a condition removes it.
Could my house have lost its rights?
Yes, in two ways. An Article 4 direction or a condition on an earlier permission can remove Class C. A conservation area alone does not. A listed house needs listed building consent.
A house starts with Class C and keeps it until something removes it. Two things can, and the council can tell you about both.
Directions and conditions
An Article 4 direction is made by the council for a set area, and it can remove Class C. So can a condition attached to an earlier planning permission. Look at the decision notice for any extension your house was granted by application, since it may restrict later roof alterations. The planning team can say whether either applies to your address.
Conservation areas and listing
A conservation area on its own does not remove Class C for a rooflight on a house. A listed house keeps Class C on the planning side, but almost any rooflight on it needs listed building consent, and that consent decides the job. Our rooflight planning guide follows each branch to its end.
Is planning the only approval a tunnel needs?
No. A new opening in the roof is building work, notified to Building Control whether or not planning applies. Where one is due, the notice comes from us.
The two systems ask separate questions. Planning is about whether the dome is acceptable where it stands. Building Regulations are about whether the work is sound.
What the notification covers
A new roof opening counts as building work. It is notified to Building Control: the local authority or a registered building control approver. They consider the framing around the opening and its thermal performance. Under Part L, for an existing dwelling in England, the limiting U-value for a rooflight is 2.2 W/m²K.
Afterwards
When the work is signed off, a completion certificate comes to you. Keep it with any planning decision, because a buyer's solicitor may ask for both one day. The sun tunnels page describes the installation itself.
Planning points on sun tunnels
Do I have to tell the council about a permitted tunnel?
Not through a planning application, if it falls within Class C. Building Control still has to be notified, since a new roof opening is building work. If you want it in writing, the planning team can explain how to request a certificate.
Is a flat-roofed extension treated differently?
The same limits apply, but a raised base can use up the 150mm quickly, so we work out the total height at the survey. The raised base is explored on the page about fitting a tunnel in a flat roof.
Does the tube inside the roof need permission?
No. Planning looks at what can be seen from outside, which is the dome. The tube and ceiling panel are internal, though the roof opening itself is covered by the Building Control notification.
Where can I check the national rules myself?
The Planning Portal explains householder permitted development in everyday language, and your own council can say whether a direction or condition applies to your address. Start with the Planning Portal.