Air conditioning in Richmond upon Thames: what you can install and what the grant covers

Do you need planning permission in Richmond upon Thames?

For many houses, possibly not. In England, one air-to-air heat pump (two on a detached house) can be permitted development under Class G if every limit and condition is met: the outdoor unit is no more than 1.5 m³, the installation complies with MCS 020a on noise, and the unit is not above ground-floor level on a wall facing a highway.

Cooling-only air conditioning does not qualify for this heat-pump route. Check with Richmond council whether planning permission is needed for a cooling-only proposal. With so many houses in the borough, rear walls, side returns and gardens are usually available, which makes the Class G conditions easier to meet here than in a block of flats.

Conservation areas in Richmond upon Thames

Richmond has 85 conservation areas. Inside one, the permitted-development route does not cover a unit on a wall or roof that fronts a highway, so the usual answer is a rear or concealed position, or a planning application.

The council also uses Article 4 directions to remove some permitted-development rights, particularly for groups or whole streets of similarly designed homes, and says any home in the borough can be subject to one. If your home is covered, you must apply for planning permission for changes that would otherwise be permitted. Check with the council before you commit, and remember that a listed building always needs listed building consent, whichever wall the unit is on.

Flats and leaseholds

Around four in ten Richmond households live in flats: purpose-built blocks, converted houses and flats in other buildings. A block of flats can use Class G if every condition is met, including the 0.6 m³ limit on the outdoor unit and only the first unit on the block.

Leaseholders should check their lease and obtain any required freeholder or managing-agent consent before anything is fixed to the outside of the building. If you rent, the grant follows the property, so you can share your checker result with your landlord.

The £2,500 grant in Richmond upon Thames

About eight in ten Richmond households heat with mains gas only, and around one in thirteen (7.7%) with electricity only.

The £2,500 air-to-air grant can apply to an eligible residential installation replacing either fossil-fuel or non-heat-pump electric heating. Homes with direct electric heating are the easiest fit because nothing else has to change. Gas-boiler homes can also qualify, but only if the boiler is fully removed and the new system covers all heating and hot water; for many boiler homes the £7,500 air-to-water grant is the better route, and a property can only use one grant. Your MCS-certified installer applies for the voucher through Ofgem. Nothing is guaranteed until they confirm your home and a certified product.

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