If you’ve been using bulk LPG for a number of years, your LPG tank or tanks may have been in the same position for a long time, even though your home, business or the space around it has changed.
You might be planning an extension, adding a garden room or landscaping your garden. For businesses, changes can be much bigger, from extending premises and installing new equipment, to altering vehicle access or reorganising a busy yard.
For hotels, pubs and other hospitality businesses, you may be looking to make better use of your outdoor space, create additional guest parking or move an LPG tank to a more discreet location where it is less visible to guests. On an industrial site, you might need the space for new buildings, equipment, storage or changes to vehicle movements.
Whatever you’re planning, it’s important to think about your bulk LPG storage tank or tanks before the work begins, rather than once plans are already underway.
When an LPG tank is installed, its location is carefully considered, taking into account factors such as separation distances from buildings, boundaries and fixed sources of ignition, as well as ventilation and safe access for LPG deliveries and tank maintenance.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) also highlights changes around an existing LPG installation, including walls, sheds, fences, electrical equipment, trees and shrubs, which may need to be taken into consideration.
So, whether you’re making changes at home, on a farm, developing a hospitality venue or adapting an industrial site, thinking about your LPG tank early can help you plan the project safely and avoid unnecessary complications later.
What are LPG tank separation distances and why do they matter?
LPG tank separation distances are the minimum distances required between an LPG storage tank and surrounding features such as buildings, property boundaries and fixed sources of ignition.
There isn’t one LPG tank seperation distance that applies to every bulk LPG tank. The requirements will depend on factors including the size of your tank, its location, and what is around it.
Your LPG installation also needs adequate ventilation and safe access for deliveries and tank maintenance. LPG vapour is heavier than air, so keeping the area around the tank appropriately ventilated helps prevent vapour accumulating in the unlikely event of a gas leak.
If you’re planning changes around your tank, whether at home or on a commercial site, it’s always best to speak to your LPG supplier before work begins. They can look at your existing installation, talk through your plans and advise on what may be required.
Can I build an extension or new building near my LPG tank?
If you’re extending your home or developing your business premises, the planned work could change the distance between a new or existing building and your LPG tank.
For domestic customers, this might include:
- An extension or conservatory
- A garage or outbuilding
- A garden room or home office
- A shed, greenhouse or summerhouse
For businesses, changes could include:
- Extending existing premises
- New workshops, warehouses or storage buildings
- Agricultural buildings or poultry sheds
- Additional offices or facilities
- New plant or equipment
- Changes to external storage areas
Although your bulk LPG tank may have met the appropriate siting requirements when it was originally installed, building closer to it could affect the required separation distances.
That’s why it’s a good idea to think about your LPG installation while you’re still planning your project. Speaking to your LPG supplier early gives them the opportunity to understand what you have planned and advise whether any changes to your LPG installation may be needed, helping you avoid unnecessary costs, changes or delays once work is underway.
Can I install fencing or change a boundary near an LPG tank?
New fencing, walls, gates or barriers can affect the area around your LPG tank, so it’s important to consider your installation before making any changes.
At home, you may be replacing a garden or boundary fence, building a new wall or changing the layout of your outdoor space. For businesses, this could include security fencing, gates or barriers as part of changes to a hospitality, industrial or agricultural site.
The position of your LPG tank in relation to boundaries is an important part of how it is safely sited, and the space around the tank also needs to allow for suitable ventilation.
Access is important too. Filling points, valves and other key parts of the installation need to remain accessible so that our drivers and engineers can safely reach the tank for deliveries, inspections and maintenance.
If your plans could change the space, boundaries or access around your LPG tank, it’s worth considering this early in the project so any requirements can be factored into your plans from the outset.
Can I plant trees, hedges or landscaping near my LPG tank?
Landscaping isn’t just something homeowners need to consider. Hotels, pubs and other businesses may want to use planting to improve outdoor spaces or make an LPG tank less visible, while vegetation around agricultural and industrial sites can also change considerably over time.
If you’re planting trees, shrubs or hedges near your LPG tank, it’s important to think about how large they could become, not just how they look when first planted. A small shrub or young tree can grow considerably wider, taller and denser over time.
The area around your LPG tank should also be kept well maintained, with grass and weeds cut back and garden waste, rubbish or other combustible materials kept away from the tank.
Keeping the area clear and well maintained helps maintain suitable ventilation, while making sure the tank remains accessible for deliveries, inspections and maintenance.
Why is LPG tanker access important?
When making changes around your home or business, it’s important to think about how your LPG delivery tanker will safely access your site and reach your tank.
For domestic customers, new gates, fencing, parking areas, changes to driveways or landscaping could affect the access available to your delivery driver.
For businesses, changes to security gates, vehicle routes, yards, guest or staff parking, loading areas, storage areas or new buildings and structures could all affect how your LPG deliveries are safely made. This is particularly important when developing a busy hospitality, industrial or agricultural site, where vehicle movements and how space is used over time can change.
Your delivery driver also needs to maintain a clear line of sight between the LPG tanker and your storage tank throughout the delivery, so this should be considered when planning any changes to the space between them.
Tanker access is an important consideration around an LPG storage installation, so before making significant changes, think about how your deliveries take place today and whether your plans could alter the tanker route, access to the tank or the driver’s line of sight.
If you’re unsure, speak to us. We’d much rather talk through your plans with you early on and help you consider safe delivery access before the work is completed.
Can electrical equipment be installed near an LPG tank?
If you’re planning to install new electrical equipment near your LPG tank, its location needs to be carefully considered.
At home, this could be part of an outdoor electrical project or other improvements to your property. For businesses, it could include new machinery, electrical equipment, lighting or other site infrastructure as premises develop or operations change.
Electrical equipment can affect the safe siting of an LPG tank, and consideration also needs to be given to fixed sources of ignition and appropriate separation distances.
If you're planning to introduce new electrical equipment close to your LPG tank, it’s best to consider its location before installation. If you’re unsure whether your plans could affect your existing LPG installation, speak to us and we can help you understand what needs to be considered.
Do underground LPG tanks need separation distances and safe access?
Yes. Although most of an underground LPG tank is hidden below ground, there are still important siting, safety and access requirements to consider.
If you're planning an extension, landscaping or other changes around an underground LPG tank, it’s important to consider the installation as part of your plans. Just because most of the tank is below ground doesn’t mean the space around and above it can be developed without consideration.
This applies to underground LPG tanks at both homes and businesses. Safe access to the tank and its filling point needs to be maintained for deliveries, inspections and maintenance, while any changes around the installation should be considered before work begins.
Planning changes? Talk to Northern Energy before you start
If you're a Northern Energy domestic or commercial LPG customer and you're planning changes around your bulk LPG tank, talk to us before work begins.
Our experienced LPG team can talk through your plans and help you understand how they could affect your existing installation, including tank siting, separation distances and maintaining safe access for future LPG deliveries.
Whether you're extending your home, developing a hotel, pub or hospitality venue, making changes to an industrial or agricultural site, or simply rethinking how you use the space around your tank, involving us early can help you plan with confidence and avoid unnecessary changes, costs or delays later.
Planning a change around your bulk LPG tank? Call our friendly team on 01423 772 789 and talk us through what you have in mind.