More room for solar panels on municipal monuments

The installation of solar panels on municipal monuments on rear roofs and flat roofs must become possible without authorisation. The condition is that the panels are not visible from the public road. This is stated in the proposal for a new heritage ordinance of the municipality of Utrecht which the municipal executive submits to the municipal council. The new Heritage Regulations replace the Monuments Regulations of 2010.

An environmental permit is required to make changes to a monument. In the new regulation, the installation of solar panels that are not visible from the public road is now without a permit. In doing so, the municipal executive respects the starting point of the coalition agreement to facilitate the sustainability of protected monuments.
With the new ordinance, the same rules now apply to municipal monuments as to national monuments. For example, municipal monuments will no longer need a permit to carry out normal maintenance work and make changes to the interior without monumental values. Owners who are unsure if a permit is required can contact the municipality. As with national monuments, a maintenance obligation will soon apply to monuments protected by the municipality. This offers the possibility of taking enforcement action if a monument is neglected.
The procedure for designating monuments has been clarified in the new regulations. From now on, interested persons can propose a building to the municipal executive as a monument protected by the municipality. The Board then decides whether to initiate an appointment procedure. An interested party must itself carry out the necessary cultural-historical research to demonstrate that a building also has real cultural-historical value.
The website of the municipality of Utrecht will announce the date of entry into force of the new heritage regulation. Until then, the current Monuments Ordinance 2010 applies. Monument owners who wish to be informed can sign up for the Heritage Newsletter by emailing [email protected]