High Court Sheds Light On Solar Panels

In a decision handed down last month, Lane J had to grapple with an issue which is certain to trouble the courts again in the coming months and years. That issue was climate change and, on this occasion, whether it amounted to a material consideration for the purposes of a planning application. The specific question for the judge was the extent to which the planning system could be used to protect solar panels on a residential property from overshadowing by a neighbouring development.

The dispute

R (on the application of William Ellis McLennan) v Medway Council [2019] EWHC 1738 (Admin); [2019] PLSCS 130 involved an application by William McLennan for judicial review of a planning permission granted by the council allowing his neighbour, Ken Kennedy, to extend his property. McLennan argued that Medway Council had failed to give proper consideration to the effect Kennedy's extension would have on the solar panels on his property. The solar panels had been installed