Air conditioning in Sydenham

Which council are we dealing with in Sydenham?

It depends on the street. Sydenham is shared between Lewisham, Bromley and Southwark, having been part of Kent until the County of London was created in 1889. The centre and most of SE26 are Lewisham's; Lower Sydenham towards Bell Green, where the gasworks produced gas until 1969, runs into Bromley; and the western slope of Sydenham Hill is Southwark's. The hill itself is one of the highest points in London at 112 metres, which is why the Crystal Palace was re-erected at Penge Peak in 1854, where it stood until the fire of 1936, and why the second half of the 19th century covered the slopes in large villas. Three councils means three planning portals, and the first thing we check at the survey is which one a postcode belongs to. Source: Wikipedia.

How many Sydenham homes are flats, and why does it matter?

More than half, and it matters because the outside wall belongs to someone else. The 2021 Census recorded 122,393 households in Lewisham: 47,837 in purpose-built blocks and 19,953 in houses divided into flats, which together is 55%, against 3,682 in detached houses, the smallest share anywhere on our patch. The villas that covered the slopes in the second half of the 19th century were built for single households with live-in staff; many of Lewisham's 19,953 divided houses are of that kind, and in any of them a bracket on the rear elevation needs the freeholder's written consent, and under permitted development a block of flats gets one outdoor unit in total. Where that unit has gone to a neighbour, the choice is a monobloc unit through two wall grilles or a planning application. Our flats guide sets out the order to do things in. Sources: Census 2021; Wikipedia; LEASE; Planning Portal.

Which Sydenham streets are conservation areas?

Lewisham lists 29 conservation areas and three carry the name: Sydenham Park, Sydenham Thorpes and Sydenham Hill. The Thorpes is the tightest: six roads, Bishopsthorpe, Queensthorpe and Earlsthorpe among them, laid out by the developers Edmondson and Sons on the garden of the Old House between 1901 and 1914, with houses at the substantial end of the Edwardian market. In any of the three, an outdoor unit cannot sit on a wall or roof facing the road under permitted development, and a unit low on the back wall, screened by the garden fence, is the position most likely to pass without an application. Sources: Lewisham Council; Sydenham Thorpes appraisal; Planning Portal.

What is the Dulwich Estate Scheme of Management, and does it cover Sydenham Hill?

A second layer of consent on the Southwark side of the hill. Freehold houses on the Dulwich Estate are bound by a Scheme of Management approved by the High Court in January 1974, which requires the Estate's approval before the external appearance of a house is altered, and the Estate publishes its decisions street by street, Sydenham Hill included. Its guideline 16, published in May 2024, treats air conditioning units and air source heat pumps as mechanical plant: an application is needed if the unit can be seen from beyond the property boundary at ground level, it must be sized and sited to limit its effect on neighbours, and a detailed acoustic report goes in with the application. The Estate says plainly that its approval is separate from, and in addition to, anything the council grants. We prepare the drawings and the sound figures for both. Sources: The Dulwich Estate; guideline 16; Sydenham Hill application.

What should a Sydenham landlord know before fitting a unit?

Two Lewisham schemes. Since 1 July 2024 most privately rented homes in the borough need a property licence under a selective licensing designation that runs to 1 July 2029, with Sydenham ward in the second of its three areas; the council said the scheme would cover another 20,000 properties and that one household in four in Lewisham rents privately. And since 19 January 2024 the whole borough has been under Article 4 directions on small shared houses, so turning a house into one needs planning permission; the southern wards had the same rule from 7 March 2020. Neither stops a landlord fitting air conditioning for tenants, but a licensed property is inspected, so the electrical certificate for the new circuit and the F-gas paperwork belong in the licence file from day one. Sources: Lewisham designation; Lewisham Council news; Lewisham Council.

What do we do in Sydenham?

Every service on this site is available in Sydenham. Choose one to read what the job involves.

What happens next?

1. You tell us about the room

   Ring 020 8194 3009 or send the form with a postcode, and say which room runs hot, and whether you own the outside wall.

2. We survey the building

   We measure the room, find a place for the outdoor unit, check the electrics and ask about the lease or the freeholder. You get a written price with the electrics itemised.

3. Consents come first

   If a freeholder, a landlord or the council has to agree, that happens before anything is drilled. We supply the drawings and the sound figures they ask for.

4. We fit, test and show you the controls

   Units, pipework and the new circuit go in, the system is pressure tested, evacuated and charged, and you leave with the certificates. A yearly service keeps it right.