Developer scraps solar panel plans for new homes

Permission was given to Kendrick Homes for the development earlier in 2025

A developer wants to go back on a promise to put solar panels on new homes in Worcestershire.

Kendrick Homes was given permission to build 60 homes on land off Saffron Grove in Tunnel Hill, Upton-upon-Severn, in 2024.

Approval was granted by Malvern Hills District Council on the condition that solar panels would be installed on each house.

A council spokesperson said the decision on the solar panels was subject to public consultation and that the developer had "asserted that the same reductions could be achieved using only air source heat pumps and omitting the solar panels".

The BBC has contacted Kendrick Homes for comment.

In its energy and sustainable building statement, Kendrick Homes said that the panels were considered in the design stage.

However, it said due to the improvement of energy reduction that could be achieved by the heat pumps alone, as well as the "bulky and visually intrusiveness" on house elevations and surrounding landscaping proposals, the panels were no longer considered as a low-carbon technology option for the site.

Initially, the developer had said the panels would be integrated within roofs to improve their appearance.

Combined with air source heat pumps, it said this would offset 10 per cent of the overall carbon emissions of the houses.

The proposed air source heat pumps are expected to provide heating and hot water to every home in the development.

Planning policies in South Worcestershire's development plan said all new developments should incorporate the generation of energy from renewable or low-carbon sources.

The homes were approved earlier this year, and planners said the site would make a "meaningful contribution" towards the authority's housing land supply.

The consultation ends on 7 November.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.