Air conditioning in Stotfold and Fairfield

From a drovers' stop on the Ivel to a town

Stotfold Town Council says the name probably comes from drovers on the Great North Road, who penned their young cattle, or stots, in folds here overnight. The River Ivel runs through the town, and the Domesday Book records four water mills in the parish.

For centuries Stotfold was a farming village. A local history published by Bedfordshire Archives describes how that changed after Letchworth Garden City was founded in 1903, when more and more residents went to work there. The parish council became Stotfold Town Council in 1974, and the town has kept growing, with newer estates off Arlesey Road and at Roker Park by The Green.

Mills, cottages and the old village streets

Historic England lists 18 entries in Stotfold parish. They include the Church of St Mary the Virgin, listed Grade II*, and two old mills. Stotfold Mill on Mill Lane is an early 19th-century watermill on the Ivel, built of gault brick and weatherboarding. It was gutted by fire in 1992 and has since been restored. Taylor's Mill on Taylor's Road is now a private home.

Most of the other listed buildings are houses and cottages, on Brook Street, Rook Tree Lane, Queen Street and The Green. Older cottages like these often have thick walls and low ceilings, so we plan the pipe route and the indoor unit's position carefully at the survey.

Fairfield: a Victorian hospital turned village

Fairfield, south-west of Stotfold, grew on the site of the Three Counties Asylum, which opened in 1860 to serve Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Huntingdonshire. It later became Fairfield Hospital and closed at the end of the 1990s. The site was redeveloped as Fairfield Park, planned for about 900 houses and 100 apartments, reusing some of the original buildings. Fairfield became a parish of its own, separate from Stotfold, on 1 April 2013.

The main hospital building, designed by George Fowler Jones and built from 1856 to 1860 in yellow brick, is listed Grade II, as are its church and its isolation hospital. If your flat is in one of these buildings, an outdoor unit and the pipe route need listed building consent as well as the freeholder's agreement.

Fairfield also has an Article 4 direction. Since 5 January 2021, houses there need planning permission for roof enlargements such as dormers, extra storeys and porches. It doesn't cover heat pumps, and it doesn't apply to homes in the converted former hospital. Fairfield's own neighbourhood plan, adopted in 2017, is used alongside the council's policies.

Stotfold homes and what they mean for an install

Planning: Central Bedfordshire Council

Stotfold, Fairfield and Astwick are all in Central Bedfordshire, so planning applications go to Central Bedfordshire Council. 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.

Stotfold itself has no conservation area on the council's list. Astwick, the small parish just north of the town, has one, with an appraisal from January 2009. Away from Astwick, listed buildings and planning conditions on newer homes are the main things we check before we quote.

Air conditioning for Stotfold businesses

We fit and service systems in shops, cafes, pubs, surgeries, salons and offices across Stotfold and Fairfield, and in workshops with office space. Ceiling cassettes suit offices with suspended ceilings, and 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 can cover several sites under one maintenance contract.

What air conditioning costs in Stotfold

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

• Open plan or a loft

  5 kW wall unit

  from£2,450inc. VAT

• Two rooms, one outdoor unit

  Multi-split

  from£3,650inc. VAT

• Three rooms

  Multi-split

  from£5,100inc. 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 places around it, including:

• SG5: Stotfold, Fairfield and Astwick
• Nearby in Bedfordshire: Arlesey, Henlow and Biggleswade
• Nearby in Hertfordshire: Letchworth Garden City, Baldock and Hitchin

Stotfold questions