Solar panels approved for King’s College Chapel in Cambridge as councillors send ‘message to the world’

Cambridge is ‘sending a message to the world’ about the need to tackle climate change after plans were approved for solar panels on the roof of King’s College Chapel.

Councillors unanimously granted permission for 492 panels on the iconic building, despite objections from Historic England.

Cllr Dave Baigent (Lab, Romsey) told Cambridge City Council’s planning committee that members had the “weight of history” on their shoulders.

He added: “Do we sit here and defend what we have, or should we change and move forward? We have an opportunity to promote change. Accepting that we can alter or allow people to alter one of the greatest buildings in this country is a symbol of what I’ve said is Cambridge. It will be significant in the world fight against carbonisation. We, as a world leader, need to be bold.”

The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings joined Historic England in raising concerns over the impact of the scheme on the look and architectural significance of the world-famous chapel.

Cambridge City Airport also objected on the grounds that glare from the solar panels could prove a hazard to pilots.

The chapel, which was begun in 1446 and completed in 1531, was described by Historic England as “one of England’s most remarkable buildings”.

Cambridgeshire County Council leader Cllr Lucy Nethsingha (Lib Dem, Newnham) noted the objections, but urged the committee to approve the plans.

“The impact of the solar PV panels on the visual appearance of the chapel will be minimal and is recognised in the conservation officer’s report,” she told the committee in a statement.

“The impact in sending a national message that it is not only possible but desirable for the roofs of historic buildings to help contribute to the need to tackle climate emergency would be enormous.

“There is no doubt that King’s College Chapel is a building of worldwide architectural importance. For solar PV to be installed on such a building will demonstrate that it is possible for even buildings of this level of importance to make their contribution to moving towards a zero carbon future.

“The greatest emergency we face is the impact of climate change, which will affect our historic buildings as well as the natural world. This is my strong view, that any possible detrimental visual impacts of the installation of panels – and I do not personally believe that the panels will cause detriment – is enormously outweighed by the positive benefits of installing panels.”

Cllr Simon Smith (Lab, Castle) told the meeting on Tuesday (February 7) : “The generation of renewable energy on the roof of the chapel will send a message that we all need to take climate change seriously.

“We need to have at the forefront of our minds that climate change is resulting in catastrophic, irreversible harm to life on Earth. Our primary responsibility must be to take every opportunity to reduce carbon emissions.”

The panels will generate enough electricity to cover 100 per cent of the chapel’s usage, with the remaining energy going to the college and back to the electricity grid. PV panels are also already installed on several college buildings.

Councillors were also reminded that solar panels have been installed for some years on the roof of the grade I-listed St Mary’s Church – not to mention Buckingham Palace.

King’s College has applied to carry out the solar panel installation during essential works to fix the lead roof.

Michael Proctor, provost of King’s, told the meeting: “I should emphasise that the panels are not permanent features of the roof. If installed they can be removed later without damaging the fabric if technology makes them not needed in the future.

“We take our responsibilities on this point very seriously. We acknowledge there will be some glimpses of the PV from limited viewpoints in the city but not, I should emphasise from the west side – the famous view across the river.

“The smallness of its impact has been reinforced by the fact that the test panels installed during last year’s feasibility study went almost universally unnoticed.

“In the context of the climate emergency, we consider the very minimal visual impact caused by the panels to be insignificant compared with the substantive benefits associated with their installation.”

He added: “Even after factoring in the payback of the embodied carbon in the panels themselves, the cost of not implementing the proposed panels would equate to the emission of approximately 410 tonnes of carbon dioxide between now and 2050. We have set an ambitious target of achieving net zero by 2038.”

Committee chair Cllr Martin Smart (Lab, King’s Hedges) said the decision was “sending a message to people all over the world”.

The meeting also heard that the Diocese of Ely also approves of the plans, which is equivalent to listed building consent in the context of an ecclesiastical building.

In approving the plans, councillors went against the officer’s recommendation of refusal but passed conditions relating to glint and glare. Reacting to the news last night, Carbon Neutral Cambridge said it was “very pleased” to see the application approved.