Air conditioning in Camden

Camden's homes and what they mean for an install

In the 2021 Census, about 87 in 100 Camden households lived in a flat. Around a quarter lived in a converted or shared house, typically a Victorian or Edwardian house split into flats, in areas such as Belsize Park, Kentish Town, West Hampstead and South Hampstead.

Bloomsbury and Fitzrovia have Georgian terraces and squares, many of them listed and many now offices, hotels or flats. Hampstead and Highgate mix older houses, cottages and mansion blocks. Camden also has large council estates, including the listed Alexandra Road Estate.

Camden's view of air conditioning: the cooling hierarchy

Camden's adopted plan is still the Camden Local Plan 2017. A new plan was submitted for examination in October 2025 and had not been adopted when we checked. Policy CC2 asks development to adapt to a warmer climate, and the council's Energy efficiency and adaptation guidance (2021) sets out a cooling hierarchy: cut heat gains, keep heat out, use thermal mass and ventilation, and only then active cooling.

Officers apply it firmly. A 2022 decision says active cooling (air conditioning) will only be permitted where all the preferred measures in the cooling hierarchy are incorporated. So applications usually include a cooling hierarchy statement, and some include thermal modelling.

This only matters when your install needs planning permission. A heating-capable unit on an unlisted house that meets every national permitted development rule doesn't need an application. We tell you at the survey which side of the line you're on.

Conservation areas and Article 4 directions

Each conservation area has its own appraisal and management strategy, and we read the one for your street before designing anything. Camden has also made Article 4 directions that remove certain permitted development rights from houses and flats in the Belsize, Fitzjohns/Netherhall, Hampstead, Primrose Hill and South Hampstead conservation areas. The council is reviewing several of these, so check the current position for your address.

• Hampstead, Redington/Frognal, Fitzjohns/Netherhall and South Hill Park Estate
• Belsize, South Hampstead, Primrose Hill and Elsworthy
• Highgate, Holly Lodge Estate and Dartmouth Park
• Camden Town, Camden Square, Jeffreys Street and Regent's Canal
• Kentish Town, West Kentish Town, Inkerman and Bartholomew Estate
• Bloomsbury, Fitzroy Square, Charlotte Street and Hatton Garden
• Seven Dials, Denmark Street, Kingsway and Kings Cross/St Pancras
• West End Green, Priory Road and Alexandra Road Estate

How quiet it must be, and what gets approved

Camden's plant noise conditions are strict. Typical wording requires noise at the nearest homes to stay at least 10 dB(A) below the lowest background level, or 15 dB(A) below where the sound is tonal, with all units running at full output. Plant must also sit on anti-vibration isolators.

A 2022 decision on a shop in a listed building on Hampstead High Street shows what can be approved: one unit inside an acoustic louvred enclosure in the rear courtyard, out of public view, fixed to a later extension rather than the historic building, with pipes through existing non-original ceilings. The application included a noise assessment and a cooling hierarchy statement, and the council limited the hours the unit can run.

Parking, the Congestion Charge and working hours

Camden is divided into controlled parking zones, each with a code starting CA-, and the hours vary from zone to zone. When the van needs to stay outside, we book a bay suspension. Camden asks for at least 17 days' notice, and later bookings can carry a short notice charge. A one-day suspension currently costs a £66.66 admin fee plus £79.63 per space. If your job needs one, the fee is on your quote.

South of Euston Road, in Bloomsbury, Holborn and the Camden side of Covent Garden, you're inside the Congestion Charge zone. Camden Town, Kentish Town, Hampstead and the rest of the north of the borough are outside it. The ULEZ covers all of London.

Camden allows noisy building work from 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays, and not on Sundays or bank holidays.

Air conditioning for Camden businesses

We fit wall units, ceiling cassettes and multi-room systems in offices, shops, restaurants, studios and clinics, and service and repair existing systems in business hours. An outdoor unit for business premises usually needs planning permission in Camden, and the cooling hierarchy applies. We provide sound data, drawings and siting for your application.

Prices in Camden

Our standard London prices. Business prices are plus VAT. Planning fees, specialist reports, enclosures and long pipe runs are separate and 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 whole borough, including:

• Hampstead, Belsize Park and Swiss Cottage (NW3)
• Camden Town, Primrose Hill and Somers Town (NW1)
• Kentish Town, Gospel Oak and Dartmouth Park (NW5)
• West Hampstead, South Hampstead and Kilburn (NW6)
• Highgate (N6)
• King's Cross and St Pancras (N1C, WC1)
• Bloomsbury, Holborn and Fitzrovia (WC1, WC2, W1)
• Hatton Garden (EC1)

Camden questions