Air conditioning in Barking and Dagenham

The Becontree estate and the new riverside

Much of Dagenham and Becontree is the Becontree estate, built by the London County Council between 1921 and 1935 to rehouse families from the East End. The council's Local Plan 2037 makes the estate a non-designated heritage asset, and the council describes it as one of the largest social housing projects ever built.

In the 2021 Census, 42 per cent of households in the borough lived in a terraced house, almost double the London figure of 21 per cent, and another 22 per cent lived in a semi-detached house. In a Becontree terrace or a corner house, the outdoor unit usually goes on the back wall or in the back garden. Each indoor unit has its pipe going straight through the wall behind it, so there is no trunking inside.

Barking town centre and Barking Riverside are where most new blocks of flats have gone up, and 28 per cent of households now live in a purpose-built flat. Census 2021 shows 32 per cent of households in social housing, most of them council tenants, and 24 per cent renting privately, so landlord consent is often the first step.

Planning in Barking and Dagenham

Planning questions go to Barking and Dagenham Council. The Barking and Dagenham Local Plan 2037 was adopted on 18 September 2024. Policy DMSI 2 asks major developments to cut overheating risk through orientation, shading, insulation and ventilation, and to submit an overheating assessment that follows the London Plan's cooling hierarchy (Policy SI 4).

For a house that isn't listed, a unit that heats as well as cools can often go in without planning permission under Class G of the national rules, as rewritten from 29 May 2025, if it meets the size, position and noise limits. A cooling-only unit can't. A block of flats is allowed one heat pump in total, with an outdoor unit no bigger than 0.6 m³, so a block that already has one needs a planning application for the next.

Conservation areas and listed buildings

The council says the borough has four conservation areas, 45 buildings and structures on the statutory list, and a local list of 123 buildings of local interest. A listed building always needs listed building consent for an outdoor unit or a pipe through a wall. In a conservation area, a unit on a wall or roof facing a road needs planning permission, so we look at the back of the property first.

The council's other Article 4 directions cover extra storeys on homes and other buildings outside the industrial areas, and houses in multiple occupation. They don't affect a heat pump, but we check your address at the survey.

• Abbey and Barking Town Centre, designated in 1975 (IG11)
• Abbey Road Riverside in Barking (IG11)
• Dagenham Village (RM10)
• Chadwell Heath Anti-aircraft Gun Site (RM6)

Shops, studios and industrial units

The Local Plan names Barking as the borough's major town centre, with district centres at Dagenham Heathway, Chadwell Heath and Green Lane, and a new one planned at Barking Riverside. We fit wall units and ceiling cassettes in shops, cafés, clinics and offices there, in business hours, and service and repair existing systems.

The borough also has about 446 hectares of strategic industrial land, including Dagenham Dock, and new film studios in Dagenham. Warehouses, workshops, offices and server rooms there often need cooling. We size each system from the heat load, not just the floor area, and business premises usually need a planning application for the outdoor unit.

Parking and access for engineers

The council has been extending its controlled parking zones across the borough, including zones around schools, so we check the zone and its hours before the visit. Outside the controlled hours we can usually park normally.

If the van needs a clear bay, we apply for a suspension at least 5 working days ahead. Barking and Dagenham charges £154.80 per bay for a day or £463.60 for a week, plus a £33.90 administration fee, and the bay can be up to 50 metres from the address. If your job needs one, the fee is on your quote.

Barking and Dagenham is outside the Congestion Charge zone. The ULEZ covers all of London, including this borough.

Prices in Barking and Dagenham

Our standard London prices. Home prices include VAT and business prices are plus VAT. Long pipe runs, planning drawings and access equipment are quoted after the survey.

• 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

• Premium range upgrade

  Quieter, more efficient unit

  from£250inc. VAT

• Commercial wall unit

  Fitted in business hours

  from£1,795+ VAT

• An annual service

  Keeps the manufacturer warranty valid

  from£119inc. VAT

Neighbourhoods we cover

We work across the borough, including IG11, RM8, RM9 and RM10, and the borough's parts of RM6 and RM7:

• Barking, Eastbury and Longbridge (IG11)
• Barking Riverside and Thames View (IG11)
• Becontree, Becontree Heath and Valence (RM8)
• Dagenham, Dagenham Heathway and Goresbrook (RM9, RM10)
• Dagenham Village and Dagenham Dock (RM10, RM9)
• Chadwell Heath, Marks Gate and Rush Green (RM6, RM7)

Barking and Dagenham questions