Planning Permission for a 10kW heat pump - Fire Safety Policy compliance 11 October 2022 at 10:18PM in Green & ethical MoneySaving 10 replies 178 views

mapryan

I have submitted a Planning Application for a 10kW Heat Pump as I live in England so anything over 0.6m3 requires permission to be installed. I chased up the planning department (in Wandsworth) to see how it was going, and they told me the application is on hold, because every single application now need to show compliance with the London Plan Guidance: Fire Safety Policy D12 (A) (see https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/fire_safety_d12a_lpg_pre-consultation_draft.pdf)  Presumably this is as a result of Grenfell. However, it’s asking me:
Information on space provisions for fire appliances and assembly points (criteria 1).
Information on passive and active safety measures (criteria 2).
Information and data on construction products and materials (criteria 3).
Information on means of escape and evacuation strategy (criteria 4).
Information on access and equipment for firefighting (criteria 6).

Has anyone else gone through this for a domestic dwelling? Any tips or suggestions or possible pointers to a website that could help with the answers? I’m not sure I can even fill this in as it says the Planning Fire Safety Strategy should be “a clear statement that sets out who has written and approved the fire safety information for submission with the planning application and their competence (relevant qualifications and experience)”

Seems a bit overkill, especially in light of a heat pump being outside and the fact that if it was a tiny bit smaller I wouldn’t have to do this at all! I feel like giving up at this point to be honest were it not for all the work I’ve already put into this submission.

TIA

shinytop

Sorry I haven't been through this myself so can't help.  But is your ASHP definitely more than 0.6 sq m?  That's big for a domestic unit.  My big double fan Mitsubishi one is well under the limit. 

Reed_Richards

I have a 12 kW heat pump that was small enough to get away without the need to apply for planning permission but I guess that's no consolation to you.  Some heat pumps use a combustible refrigerant.  I would think that the main issue for practical purposes is whether the heat pump is going to set fire to anything else if it caught fire itself.

The wording you quote makes it sound as if you need to pay for the services of a fire safety expert to submit an appraisal of your system.  Oh dear.        

mapryan

shinytop said:

Sorry I haven't been through this myself so can't help.  But is your ASHP definitely more than 0.6 sq m?  That's big for a domestic unit.  My big double fan Mitsubishi one is well under the limit. 

It's the Vaillant Arotherm Plus and it's 1100 X 1565 X 450 given a total size of .77m3

mapryan

Reed_Richards said:

I have a 12 kW heat pump that was small enough to get away without the need to apply for planning permission but I guess that's no consolation to you.  Some heat pumps use a combustible refrigerant.  I would think that the main issue for practical purposes is whether the heat pump is going to set fire to anything else if it caught fire itself.

The wording you quote makes it sound as if you need to pay for the services of a fire safety expert to submit an appraisal of your system.  Oh dear.        

It's not just because it's a heat pump. Wandsworth says that ALL planning applications now need to have a Fire Safety Strategy completed. I tried to contact some consultants and none are even willing to give me a quote for the work as they're all so busy presumably working on large commercial stuff. 

The planning process for homeowners has been broken by this policy which the council has implemented without due consideration

ABrass

Criteria 1: There is a road outside. For a single property this is sufficient.

Criteria 2: <fire alarms in your house>.

Criteria 3: List of doors and escape sized windows

Criteria 6: See point 1.

 I, <name> have filled this in as the householder. I am familiar with the property and plans. This is proportionate to the scale of the application being made as stated in <paragraph references>

For a major development the plans need to be detailed and rigorous. For a single house they don't need anything like that depth and it does not state you need a professional.

Martyn1981

I'm not knocking the need for safety and compliance, but there is some irony v's gas or oil boilers.

Presumably ABrass has hit the nail on the head and for a normal domestic install, the fire safety 'stuff' may be straight forward box ticking?

Reed_Richards

Looking at the specs, the quoted height appears to include the feet - which don't add significantly to the overall volume.    

mapryan

ABrass said:

Criteria 1: There is a road outside. For a single property this is sufficient.

Criteria 2: <fire alarms in your house>.

Criteria 3: List of doors and escape sized windows

Criteria 6: See point 1.

 I, <name> have filled this in as the householder. I am familiar with the property and plans. This is proportionate to the scale of the application being made as stated in <paragraph references>

For a major development the plans need to be detailed and rigorous. For a single house they don't need anything like that depth and it does not state you need a professional.

Thanks, that's really helpful and I think you may be onto something here. I'll obviously expand on this and give it a go. The council does have a pre-approval review process, so if they think it's insufficient I would hope they would let me know before rejecting the application

shinytop

This seems to be a major design flaw on the part of Vaillant.  A lot of people would just look for another manufacturer rather than have to apply for pp.     

ispookie666

@mapryan That's a bummer and can empathize from my experience of Noise assessment for ASHP.   I'm not sure @ABrass approach is going to work.  Quick reading gives me an impression that the document should be done by a qualified and competent person.