Winchester Cathedral has permission for 228 solar panels on five modern buildings in its estate, not the Cathedral itself. Here is which roofs and why.
Winchester Cathedral has planning permission to fit 228 solar panels to the roofs of five buildings on its estate. None of them is the Cathedral itself, and none is a listed building.
Winchester City Council granted the permission on 4 June 2026, under application 26/00597/FUL, with no objections from the public (Winchester City Council planning register). The scheme has drawn attention this week. The Cathedral had published nothing about it on its own website when we checked on 6 November, so we are asking it when work starts.
Which roofs, and how many panels
The council’s officer report lists every roof and every panel (officer report, 4 June 2026).
| Building | Roof | Panels |
|---|---|---|
| The Paul Woodhouse Suite | West-facing slope | 84 |
| The Wessex Learning Centre | South-facing slope | 65 |
| The Works Yard | West-facing slope (27) and south-facing slope (20) | 47 |
| The Works Yard garage block | Flat roof | 20 |
| The Refectory | South-facing slope, above the café kitchen and toilets | 12 |
| Total | 228 |
The total is our addition of the report’s figures. Some reports this week have given a higher number. The permission is for 228, and the Cathedral has not said publicly whether the scheme it is installing differs.
Why those buildings
The architects, T2 Architects, chose buildings that are not listed, have roofs with a good south-facing aspect and are not prominently visible from the street, according to their design and heritage statement. The officer report says the oldest of the five dates from about 1970.
The statement says the aim is to cut the estate’s use of fossil fuels. It gives three targets behind it:
- the Church of England’s goal of net zero carbon by 2030
- the Cathedral’s own aim of a 6% cut in carbon each year
- moving from Eco Church “silver”, which it holds now, to “gold”
The estate sits inside the Winchester City Conservation Area and the Cathedral Close scheduled monument, beside the Grade I listed Cathedral. The council’s historic environment team raised no objection. It said the roof slopes had been “carefully chosen to avoid prominence within the conservation area, and principal views of listed buildings”, as the officer report records.
What people said
- Support: one member of the public, citing less reliance on fossil fuel. The City of Winchester Trust registered support and said it had no comments.
- Neutral: one comment, that the scheme would not be enough to reach net zero by 2030.
- Objections: none.
The officer accepted that point. The report says the panels would “not fully make the sites net zero carbon”, but would have an “overall positive impact”.
What happens next
The permission has two conditions. Work must start within three years, so by 4 June 2029, and must follow the approved drawings (decision notice).
The application gives no output figure in kilowatts and no cost. We are asking the Cathedral for both, along with the start date, and will add them when it replies.
What it means for you
- The Cathedral will look the same. No panel goes on the Cathedral or on any listed building in the Close.
- You can read every drawing. All 21 documents are on the council’s planning register. Our planning page explains how to search it.
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