Households in England will be free to install an air source heat pump without the need to submit a planning application from early next year.

The rule change means that there will no longer be the requirement to have such pumps at least one metre from a property’s boundary

Aira, an energy technology firm, says current delays of up to 28 weeks for heat pump planning permission approval are significantly hindering heat pump adoption in the UK.

It adds that the allocation of an additional £30m for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme this financial year, alongside a nearly doubled budget of £295m for the next financial year, suggests that sales of heat pumps are forecast to increase rapidly

Meanwhile separate research by Aira claims that more than a third of UK homeowners are forced to dip into savings to pay for energy bills

Aira’s UK chief executive Daniel Särefjord says: “The announcement will be a game-changer for heat pump adoption across the UK. It is a much needed and welcomed intervention from the government to ensure customers can save serious amounts of money on heating costs and enable our country to meet net zero targets. 

“Clean heating solutions are essential for driving the UK’s transition to a lower-cost, lower-carbon, and more stable energy market, with heat pumps playing a central role in this evolution. 

“This step highlights a strong commitment to tackling climate change while supporting the growth of the clean energy-tech sector and creating thousands of new jobs within the green skills workforce across the country.”