New options considered for Pimlico heat network

A communal heating system, believed to be the oldest in the UK, could be replaced with a mix of air-source heat pumps and individual boilers as alternatives to expensive modernisation of the ageing network.

The 70-year-old Pimlico District Heat Undertaking (PDHU) supplies heating and hot water to more than 3,000 homes and businesses.

Westminster City Council leader Paul Swaddle called on the government for financial help to replace it, saying funding would help "put in an environmentally friendly system that supports everyone".

Finding a long-term solution for the ageing network has been controversial, with some residents calling for individual heating systems so they can be "billed fairly".

Under the council's previous Labour administration, residents said they were shown estimates suggesting leaseholders of four-bedroom flats in some parts of the estate could be asked to pay more than £66,000 under plans for refurbishment.

The council said those figures were estimates only.

Conservative councillor Swaddle said: "The problem with [the PDHU] is it's become very old and now needs to be replaced.

"The current proposed costs are way too high for local residents and even long term for the council."

Westminster City Council said it is reviewing the PDHU, looking at work carried out so far and concerns raised by residents and businesses.

The review will consider the options for replacing the ageing system, with findings due to be considered by a Policy and Scrutiny Task Group in the coming months.

Swaddle added: "What I want to discuss is alternatives to this system, building systems such as air-source heat pumps, but also systems where individual boilers are used in different flats.

"Probably a combination of those across the estate will be the solution."

Hilary Golding, who represents campaign group Pimlico Unites, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the group "welcomes Cllr Paul Swaddle's recognition that the current PDHU proposal costs are too high for residents and for the council long term".

She claimed that residents at a meeting at Westminster City Hall on 28 July had made clear they wanted modern, individual heating systems rather than a district-wide network.

"Residents want to be billed fairly for the heat they actually use, and want cooling options built in given increasingly hot summers," she said.

"We urge the council to formally explore individual systems as the way forward, with residents kept fully involved at every stage."

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