Do solar panels on a pergola come under Class A permitted development rights

[Caroline Northfield]

We want to mount solar panels on a pergola type structure that will be attached to the house for stability and rigidity, as neither the flat roof on the house or conservatory are strong enough to hold solar panels. The pergola would come out from the back of the house by 3.9m, a metre more than our flat roof conservatory, which will be covered by the pergola. The pergola will extend 2.6m to the side of the conservatory. The overall size of the pergola would be 3.9m by 6.4m wide, to take 10 panels- 2 rows of 5. The plan is for the panels to be mounted at 12degrees, which calculates to being under 40cm high.

We're trying to acertain whether this structure would come under Class A - permitted developments rights for Solar panels on a house. What would your view be? The structure would be standing on the patio and attached to the house, and would be within the curtilage of the dwelling house, but the panels wouldn't be sitting actually on the roof of the dwelling.