Air source heat pump must be covered to avoid noise complaints

PLANNERS have given the go-ahead for an air source heat pump in the garden of a house but have said it must be enclosed to prevent potential noise complaints.

Householder Tim Croker applied for planning permission for the pump, to replace a gas boiler, and to make his home at Bailey Bridge Walk, Chepstow reliant on renewable energy.

Monmouthshire County Council’s planning department welcomed the application as it said its policies promote renewable energy.

It described the pump as “modest in size” and said it would appear subordinate to the house while an existing fence means it will not be visible from Bailey Bridge Walk which is within the Lower Wye Valley Historical Landscape zone.

The pump will be placed in the garden of the end of terrace house around one metre from the wooden fence of the neighbour’s property but planners said if the fence is ever removed it isn’t considered likely to have an adverse impact on the landscape due to the pump’s limited scale.

But it will have to be enclosed “within a suitable brick or timber housing” to reduce noise levels. The pump will be 1.9 metres from the neighbour’s patio doors and 4.3m from the neighbour’s first floor bedroom window.