FAQ
What is an ASHP?
An ASHP is a low-carbon technology that uses electricity to provide heating by removing heat from the air and discharging it at a lower temperature. While it is a low-carbon technology, it is one of the least efficient. Berkeley Homes has not re-assessed the viability of the technology since 2018 and the technologies have changed greatly since then.
Will this provide any benefit to me?
Berkeley Homes are mandated to provide low-carbon heat to new developments under the Future Homes Standard (FHS). There is no requirement for them to provide any additional green heat to existing buildings at present. This means that none of the adjacent buildings will benefit from this new energy centre.
Can this energy centre be built at another location?
Yes, there is no technical limitation or reason to build the energy centre on Wellington Park. Berkeley Homes have cited that they do not want to build the ASHP on the roofs of the new developments because they do not want to exceed a height limit for their planning application. Moving the energy centre to Wellington Park ONLY allows for more apartments to be built.
What will be the impact on local area?
ASHPs can create cold pluming. This will create a microclimate around the energy centre (and Wellington Park) with a reduced temperature of several degrees.
How can I stop this?
So what do these heat pumps look like?
We don't know exactly what they will look like. The consultation from Berkeley Homes has not yet provided detailed sketches of how the industrial installation will look. They have also said that they will go out to tender after the plans are approved by council to find a supplier of the heat pumps and choose the lowest cost ones.
Advice from the consultation session on 19th May 2025 was that the actual units are expected to be bespoke units constructed under contract, and at this time don't know what they will look like. This is not a reassuring message!
Isn't that part of the park unused and unfinished?
Part of the argument from Berkeley Homes on taking that part of the park for the ASHP installation is that it's unused and/or unfinished.
Let's just say this - for an unfinished park, there's a lot of landscaping, gardening and maintenance carried out! The grass is a bit unloved as we come into summer and is drying out. Despite that it's a favourite spot for dogs, and we see people using it every day for everything from exercise to tai chi, to children running around having the time of their life.
Isn't this anti-green nimbyism?
Absolutely not! We are keen to see efforts toward greening Royal Arsenal Riverside, reducing our environmental impact, and supporting efforts to de-carbonise energy production for the Arsenal. We also think that sacrificing scarce open space, and damaging heritage values, for the sake of propping up Berkeley Homes profit on their new development, is not a viable trade.
As it stands, Armourer's Court exists only on paper. Any assertion that these plans could not be amended to locate the heat pumps inside the site is nonsense. That's one alternative: change the plans.
There is industrial land immediately adjacent to the Armourer's Court site. Why could that not be acquired or leased? That's an alternative.
There are numerous alternatives. But taking the park is the cheapest.
The current consultation talks a lot about decarbonisation. This is a rather loaded term, as it's easily confused with emissions reduction. What is meant by Berkeley Homes is that the emissions for the entire heating system, when completed, will be less than if they had used more gas-powered heating.
This is correct, but also something of a sleight of hand:
- As no gas powered infrastructure is being removed, there is no reduction in emissions;
- There's no evidence that the impact of reducing green space by 15% is offset by this decarbonisation scheme;
- The Air Source Heat Pumps will increase overall electricity consumption, moving the carbon emissions to somewhere else in the national grid.
Yes! in our back yard - just not in our park.
