Officers recommend approving six rooftop heat pumps at Dulwich Leisure Centre at committee on 10 November, despite 59 objections. Register to speak by 9 November.
Southwark’s planning officers have recommended approving six air source heat pumps on the roof of Dulwich Leisure Centre. Councillors will decide at a public meeting on Tuesday 10 November.
The recommendation is in the officer report published with the agenda for the Planning Committee (Smaller Applications). It covers both the planning application, 26/AP/0390, and listed building consent, 26/AP/0391. Dulwich Leisure Centre is the only item on the agenda.
The neighbours’ objections have grown since we first reported them in October. The report counts 59 objections from about 32 addresses, across three rounds of consultation, plus 20 objections to the listed building consent. Nobody wrote in support.
What would be built
The scheme replaces the centre’s gas boilers with electric heating and hot water. It is part of the council’s programme to take five leisure centres off gas. The report describes:
- six heat pumps on the flat roof of the 2009 reception building on Crystal Palace Road
- an acoustic enclosure rising about 1.9 metres above the existing parapet
- an electricity substation and a dropped kerb on Crystal Palace Road
- cycle parking moved, with 8 covered and 4 uncovered spaces replacing 10 covered ones
- timber double-glazed windows in place of the uPVC ones in the pool and gym halls, with the arched heads of the gym windows put back
Not every pump would run all the time. The operating schedule in the report is:
| Period | Pumps running |
|---|---|
| Early morning, 5.30am to 7am | 4 |
| Daytime, 7am to 10pm | 6 |
| Night, 10pm to 5.30am | 2 |
The council, as applicant, estimates the change would cut emissions by about 242 tonnes of CO2 a year. The report notes that officers have not checked that figure independently.
Why officers say yes
Officers accept that the plant would cause “some residual adverse noise effects” for neighbours. They conclude these would not be “significant adverse effects”, and that they have been reduced as far as reasonably practicable.
The two noise studies still disagree. The council’s consultant, NOVA Acoustics, and Peninsular Acoustics, hired by residents, reached very different results, as our first report set out. The council’s environmental protection team has now weighed both. The report says it was not persuaded by two of Peninsular’s corrections:
- a blanket 4 decibel penalty for tonal noise, applied at every home and in every period
- a further 3 decibel penalty for intermittent noise, when the pumps are meant to run continuously within each period
Removing the second penalty alone takes Peninsular’s worst daytime result from 12 decibels above background to 9, the report says.
The team also gave weight to how quiet the area is at night. The background level is about 28 decibels. It predicts plant noise at the most affected windows of about 34 to 37 decibels at night and 34 to 39 in the early morning. Inside the nearest bedrooms, with a window partly open, NOVA puts it at 20 to 24 decibels.
On daylight, officers accept some loss at Tribeca Court, the flats beside the centre. One ground-floor flat would see annual sunlight to two bedroom windows fall from 19% to 14% and from 14% to 9%. Officers judge this not significant. They find the heritage effect on the listed building “neutral to minor positive”, mainly because of the new timber windows.
The noise test after it is built
The approval would carry a condition the environmental protection team asked for. Before the pumps and substation are first switched on, the council must receive and approve a noise validation report from a qualified acoustic consultant. It must show:
- the plant installed is what was approved, in the approved positions
- the acoustic barriers, louvres and vibration isolation are in place
- the controls keep the pumps in their low-noise and super-silenced modes, on the approved schedule
- the installation is no louder than the approved noise assessment predicted
If the measurements come out higher, extra mitigation must be approved and fitted before the plant can keep running.
Why it is going to committee at all
The council is applying to itself, on its own building. Under the new national scheme of delegation, in force since 31 October, council ownership alone no longer sends a scheme to councillors. The report says a nominated officer and a nominated councillor agreed it met the new test anyway, because of the noise, daylight and heritage issues and the “substantial public representations”.
The decision is late. The applications’ agreed decision date was 14 October, and a council report in August had expected a committee on 5 October. The government grant behind the wider programme has to be spent by 31 March 2027, as we reported in October.
What it means for you
- If you want to speak at the meeting, email
constitutional.team@southwark.gov.ukby 5pm on Monday 9 November, the council’s procedure note says. Objectors get one three-minute slot between them, so agree a spokesperson if you can. - To watch or attend, the meeting is at 7pm on Tuesday 10 November at 160 Tooley Street, SE1. It is open to the public and usually livestreamed.
- If you swim or train at Dulwich, nothing changes yet. No works contract for Dulwich had been let when we checked council decisions on 5 October.
- If you live next door, the noise validation condition is the part to watch if permission is granted. The council has to approve the post-installation report before the pumps can run.
We will report the decision on the night or the morning after. Other planning decisions are on our Dulwich planning news page.
Sources
- Southwark Council, officer report on 26/AP/0390 and 26/AP/0391, Planning Committee (Smaller Applications), 10 November 2026, read 2 November 2026.
- Southwark Council, agenda for the 10 November meeting and procedure note for speakers.
- Our earlier report, Dulwich Leisure Centre heat pumps: 32 objections, 0 support, for the funding and the two noise studies.
Have your say