Air conditioning in Bovingdon

A village on the Chiltern plateau

Bovingdon sits about 150 metres above sea level on the south-eastern slopes of the Chilterns, four miles from both Hemel Hempstead and Chesham. Dacorum's 2011 appraisal describes a village that grew from scattered farmsteads around St Lawrence's Church, with the old core in a dip in the plateau where the High Street meets Chipperfield Road, Church Street and Green Lane.

During the Second World War an airfield was built to the north of the village, and US air forces were based there. HMP The Mount opened beside it in 1987. After the war, housing began at Hyde Meadows in 1946 and spread over the next 30 years, followed by the Moody Estate in the 1970s, so most Bovingdon homes are post-war.

Bovingdon homes and what they mean for an install

Planning: Dacorum Borough Council

Bovingdon is in Dacorum, so applications go to Dacorum Borough Council. A heating-capable unit on a house is often permitted development if it isn't used only for cooling, is no bigger than 1.5 m³ and passes the MCS 020(a) noise check of 37 dB(A) at neighbours' windows. A semi-detached or terraced house can have one heat pump, a detached house two. Our planning guide sets out the rest.

The 2011 appraisal places Bovingdon on the fringe of the Chilterns National Landscape, then called an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The heat pump rules don't add a separate limit for a National Landscape, so the conservation area and listed buildings are what usually decide whether you need to apply.

The Bovingdon conservation area

Dacorum designated the conservation area on 6 October 1969 and amended it in July 1975 and on 28 July 2011. It is drawn tightly around the historic core and falls into two areas: the High Street, with its wide grass verges, small cottages, shops and pubs; and the quiet lanes around St Lawrence's Church (Grade II*), the former vicarage and Bury Farm. The appraisal calls the churchyard, with its avenue of Irish yews, the second largest in the county.

Listed buildings include Yew Tree Farmhouse, The Bell, Nos. 84 and 86 and Nos. 106 and 108 High Street, Bull Cottages in Church Street, Bury Farmhouse and its barns, and the Ryder Memorial of 1881 at the crossroads.

What the 2011 boundary added

The 2011 appraisal proposed three extensions, and the council adopted them. If you live in one of these spots, your house may have come into the conservation area only recently:

• Church Lane House: its gardens and outbuildings, the 1930s vicarage and part of Vicarage Lane
• High Street and Vicarage Lane: the Memorial Hall, fire station, schools, library, Nos. 39 and 41 High Street, the playing fields and the houses on the west side of Vicarage Lane
• Church Street and Chipperfield Road: houses between Bury Farm and Bull Cottages, and the north side of Chipperfield Road from The Bull to Longfield Road

Water at the crossroads

The appraisal notes that the crossroads in the dip are particularly prone to flooding: in heavy rain, water pours down the High Street, Chipperfield Road and Green Lane and collects in the pond known as the Docks. If your home is near the bottom of the dip, we mount the outdoor unit on a raised stand or a wall bracket, clear of standing water, and keep the electrics high.

Villages near Bovingdon

We cover the villages around Bovingdon too. Flaunden's conservation area dates from October 1969 and Chipperfield's from June 1970, and both are in Dacorum. Bovingdon Green, with its restored pond, is part of the parish. Westwards the land runs over the county line into Buckinghamshire and down to Chesham, where Buckinghamshire Council handles planning.

Shops, businesses and parking

We fit and service systems in the shops, pubs, restaurants, surgeries and offices along the High Street, and in workplaces around the village. Wall units suit small shops. Ceiling cassettes suit offices with suspended ceilings. Commercial installs are done in business hours.

The appraisal describes perennial parking problems on the High Street. Tell us when you book and we'll plan where the van can stop to unload the outdoor unit.

What air conditioning costs in Bovingdon

Our starting prices are the same here as across Hertfordshire and London. Home prices include VAT. Business prices are plus VAT. The survey turns them into 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

• Four rooms

  Multi-split

  from£6,500inc. VAT

• Commercial wall unit

  Fitted in business hours

  from£1,795+ VAT

• An annual service

  Keeps the manufacturer warranty valid

  from£119inc. VAT

Areas and postcodes we cover

We cover the whole village and the places around it, including:

• HP3: Bovingdon High Street, Church Street, Church Lane, Vicarage Lane and Chipperfield Road
• HP3: Hyde Meadows, the Moody Estate, Green Lane and the roads towards the airfield
• Flaunden, Chipperfield and Bovingdon Green
• Nearby: Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley, Berkhamsted and Chesham

Bovingdon questions