Satellite dishes

Bury Council's Development Control section has produced a set of advice notes. A full set of these leaflets can be obtained from the Planning Office, and in the near future a facility will be available to download the leaflets from this website. Advice note number 32 explains the main considerations for satellite dishes, below is a overview.

Minimising impact

In deciding the best position for your dish you should take account of its impact on your neighbours, the general public and the environment. The following considerations should be taken into account when selecting and siting a dish.

• Colour - the colour of the dish should blend in with the colour of the background wall. It may be possible to paint some dishes to blend in their surroundings;
• Size - no larger than 90cm and in the case of installation on a chimney stack, 45cm;
• Material - a mesh or transparent dish may be less obtrusive than a solid one;
• Siting - depending on the 'line of sight', a rear wall or garden;
• Design - as dishes are available in a variety of designs, choice is important.

Please note: that you should always take care to remove the dish when it is no longer needed or you change to a cable system.

Poor siting

It is an unfortunate consequence, but if the planning department considers your dish to be poorly sited when it could have been positioned less conspicuously, you may be asked to resite the dish at your own expense.

The planning department may take one of the following actions should you fail to comply:

1. require you to submit a planning application because it regards the impact of the dish on the external appearance of the building or in a particular area has not been minimised; and
2. serve an enforcement notice requiring you to resite the dish which reduces the impact. You have the right to appeal should you think the measures are excessive and costs of doing so unreasonable.

In seeking resiting, the planning department should use these guidelines to illustrate to your the reasonable measures to be taken to achieve significantly less visible locations that do not compromise line-of-site requirements and picture quality.

Alternatives

Should, after reading this leaflet find yourself unable to comply with the above regulations, you may wish to consider other options that may be available to you.

Shared systems:

• As planning permission is unlikely to be granted for several dishes on a single building;
• A shared system would be more environmentally friendly than for each household to have its own dish;
• Landlords or owners have prohibited individual dishes.

Cable networks

An alternative way of having access to a wide range of satellite television channels in your home. These are of particular useful where:

• your building does not have a line of sight to the satellite;
• a shared system is not feasible;
• where planning permission cannot be obtained;
• where you do not wish to site a dish on your property.

Further Information

If you remain in doubt as to whether a satellite dish would require planning permission on your property or in your area, or perhaps require further help in choosing the best location for your dish, please contact a member of the Development Control team.

Information is also available on the Planning Portal website and also contains a page with an interactive satellite dish locator, giving general advice about finding the best location for siting your dish.

For more information, you should also read the advice given in the Council's Domestic Extensions and Alterations supplementary planning guidance.

Useful Links

Supplementary Planning Guidance  
Development Control Home Page 
Development Control Advice Notes 
Planning Officer Contact Details 
Planning Portal website