Many householders obtain their television from the satellite companies via a satellite dish erected on their property. These can have an adverse effect on the external appearance of buildings and street scenes, particularly where concentrations of dishes are erected. Areas of outstanding townscape character and listed buildings are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of such equipment. This policy seeks to protect the environment and buildings from unsympathetic or poorly sited satellite dishes.

REQUIREMENT FOR PLANNING PERMISSION

The law requiring planning permission for satellite dishes is complex and advice should be sought from the Council’s Development and Regeneration Services to ascertain whether permission is required.

Planning permission is always required for the erection of a satellite dish on a listed building and on a flatted property within a conservation area.

1. DWELLING HOUSES 

The main issue in relation to those satellite dishes that require planning permission is the effect on the visual amenity of the street frontage or frontages. The ideal siting for a satellite dish will be in the back garden, on the ground and effectively screened by either a wall, a fence or dense planting. The next most suitable locations would be siting on the rear slope of the house roof, the roof of a garage extension or other outbuilding to the rear of the house. Antennas in these locations would be less likely to be seen from the street if they were kept below the ridge line, but could possibly be seen by anyone overlooking the back garden area. A less satisfactory situation would be siting a dish on a garage or outbuilding at the side of the house, as it would probably be seen from the street.

In detached, semi-detached and terraced houses, a satellite dish should be sited in the rear garden screened by planting, a fence or wall. If this is not practicable, the satellite dish should be sited on the roof of an outbuilding at the rear of the property, on the rear wall or roof slope and where the satellite dish would not be visible from the main street frontage and would not be visually detrimental to adjacent properties.

2. FLATTED RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES 

Flatted properties, including multi-storey flats and tenements are used for the erection of both domestic satellite dishes and commercial dishes and antennas.

In the case of low-rise blocks of flats, use of the communal garden or garage block is unlikely to provide a suitable location for domestic satellite dishes for reasons of security and visual amenity. Dishes should be erected on the rear slope of the roof so that the dish is below the roofline. On a large block of modern flats with flat roofs, one, or even two, satellite dishes will not usually be significant, in amongst the other structures on a roof and could well be permitted development in any case. A problem may occur when more than two individuals wish to erect equipment. It may well be that a first come, first served situation is the only viable solution to maintaining visual amenity.

Much of the flatted property in Glasgow, however, is in the form of tenements with pitched roofs. The erection of dishes on a rear slope, with no projection above the ridge of the roof, and that are not seen from a street, will normally be acceptable, although the effect on residential amenity will be considered carefully if many other properties look on to the rear slope of the roof.

In tenemental type properties with a pitched roof, the satellite dishes should be sited on the rear slope of the roof, with no part of the dish projecting above the ridge. A dish may not be acceptable where it is considered to be detrimental to the visual amenity of residents overlooking the rear roof or is visible from the main street frontage.

The number of dishes acceptable on roofs other than multi-storeys will be dependent on the effect on the visual amenity of the surrounding area.

3. LISTED BUILDINGS AND CONSERVATION AREAS 

In conservation areas or on listed buildings, proposals to site satellite dishes will only be acceptable where they are not detrimental to the character or setting of a listed building or to the visual amenity of a conservation area. In order to minimise the effects of a satellite dish, in these locations dishes should be painted to blend with the background.

4. REDUNDANT EQUIPMENT 

In order to ensure that unnecessary or redundant apparatus is removed from domestic properties, an appropriate condition will be attached to all consents.