Air conditioning in Dunstable

A town built on a crossroads

Dunstable grew where two ancient routes cross: the Icknield Way, running east to west, and the Roman Watling Street, running north to south. The council's conservation area appraisal traces the town from a Roman settlement, Durocobrivis, to a new town founded by Henry I in the early 12th century around a royal lodge and an Augustinian priory.

The Priory Church of St Peter still dominates the Church Street approach, and the churchyard over the old priory buildings is a scheduled monument. Coaching inns such as the Old Sugar Loaf on High Street North recall the town's years as a staging post on Watling Street. In the 19th century the railway and hat-making brought terraced streets behind the main roads, and in the 20th century Dunstable grew as an engineering town with large residential suburbs.

Dunstable homes and what they mean for an install

Planning: Central Bedfordshire Council

Dunstable was part of South Bedfordshire until 2009, when Central Bedfordshire Council took over. It now handles all planning in the town and the surrounding villages. A heating-capable unit on a house is often permitted development if it meets the limits on size, position and noise. Cooling-only units, listed buildings and units on road-facing walls in a conservation area need permission. Our planning guide explains each rule.

We found no Article 4 direction covering Dunstable itself on the council's list. Toddington is different, as explained below.

The Dunstable conservation area

The town has one conservation area, designated in 1976 and extended in 1995. It covers the historic centre on the four streets that meet at the crossroads: High Street North, High Street South, West Street and Church Street, with Middle Row, the Priory Church, Priory Gardens and Grove House Gardens. The council's 2010 draft appraisal counted 53 listed buildings inside it.

The appraisal singles out the local brickwork: plum-coloured local bricks, patterned headers and fine tuck pointing on Victorian terraces. We fix brackets and drill pipe holes with that in mind, and keep units and pipe runs on rear walls. The same draft suggested extending the boundary to parts of Princes Street, West Street, Burr Street and Britain Street, so check the council's map for your address before you plan anything at the front.

Villages around Dunstable

We cover the villages around the town too. Most have their own conservation area, and three sit in the Chilterns National Landscape, known until November 2023 as the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Class G doesn't set a separate heat pump limit for National Landscapes, so the conservation area and listed building rules usually decide whether you need to apply.

• Toddington (LU5): conservation area with an Article 4 direction from 1975 (see below)
• Caddington and Slip End (LU1): Caddington has a conservation area; Slip End has none on the council's list
• Kensworth (LU6): two conservation areas, Church End and Kensworth Lynch, and the village is in the Chilterns National Landscape
• Totternhoe and Eaton Bray (LU6): each has its own conservation area
• Studham and Whipsnade (LU6): each has a conservation area, and both villages are in the Chilterns National Landscape, as are Dunstable Downs

Air conditioning for Dunstable businesses

We fit and service systems in offices, shops, restaurants, clinics, salons and small server rooms, from the High Street to the retail and industrial estates. Ceiling cassettes suit offices with suspended ceilings. Wall units suit shops and smaller rooms. Commercial installs are done in business hours.

We take over servicing from other installers, carry out F-Gas leak checks on systems that need them, and regas a system once a leak has been found and fixed. A regas without a repair just leaks out again, so we always find the leak first.

Parking on install day

Central Bedfordshire runs five residents' parking zones in Dunstable: Prince Regent, Icknield Street, Stuart Street, Clifton Road and West Parade. Permits are virtual, and the council doesn't guarantee a space. If you live in one of these zones or on a busy town centre street, tell us when you book so we can plan where the van parks, because we need to unload the outdoor unit close to the house.

What air conditioning costs in Dunstable

Our starting prices are the same here as across Bedfordshire and London. Home prices include VAT; business prices are plus VAT. The survey gives you a fixed written price.

• A bedroom or study

  2.5 kW wall unit, 5 m pipe, fitted in a day

  from£1,850inc. VAT

• A living room

  3.5 kW wall unit

  from£2,050inc. VAT

• Two rooms, one outdoor unit

  Multi-split

  from£3,650inc. VAT

• Three rooms

  Multi-split

  from£5,100inc. VAT

• Floor-standing unit

  2.5 kW console

  from£2,350inc. VAT

• Commercial wall unit

  Fitted in business hours

  from£1,795+ VAT

• Ceiling cassette

  In a suitable suspended ceiling

  from£2,750+ VAT

• An annual service

  Keeps the manufacturer warranty valid

  from£119inc. VAT

Areas and postcodes we cover

We cover the whole town and the villages around it, including:

• LU5 and LU6: Dunstable town centre and every part of the town
• LU5: Toddington, and neighbouring Houghton Regis
• LU6: Totternhoe, Eaton Bray, Kensworth, Studham and Whipsnade
• LU1: Caddington and Slip End
• Markyate (Dacorum, Hertfordshire)

Dunstable questions