_SOLAR PANELS : IT’S TIME TO GET SMART  

While not necessarily a new issue, overshadowing by development proposals of solar panels on the roof of existing dwellings continues to be a contentious issue.  

As an example, Collie has recently been involved on a project where a neighbour has objected to a planning permit application on the grounds that the proposed development would result in an unreasonable overshadowing to its solar panels despite the panels being sited on the edge of the roof rather than being setback from the common boundary.

It seems that planning permit applicants are continuing to suffer from the poor placement of solar panels when proper consideration to their location would provide more opportunities for equitable development.  Furthermore, the proper placement of solar panels would mitigate the potential for overshadowing to occur and reduce the likelihood of permit applicants having to increase setbacks to account for poorly located panels and / or having to prepare technical reports to understand the impact that the overshadowing will have on the performance of solar panels noting that in some instances, permit applicants have had to fund the relocation of the solar panels on adjoining properties.   

This issue stems from the location of solar panels being exempt from the need for a planning permit despite Planning Practice Note 88 providing guidance on their suitable placement.  The logical solution in our view, would be to require a planning permit for solar panels with the application to be assessed against the criteria of Planning Practice Note 88 under the VicSmart provisions, resulting in ten business day assessment timeframe.

While by no means full proof, ensuring that the location of proposed solar panels is assessed more rigorously would reduce significantly conflict with future planning permit applications for development.