Where the foxes caper unmolested, the government packs your school lunch and while swapping out the desk fan for a permanent cooling system might seem like an appealing solution following this summer’s record-breaking heatwave…
… installing one without proper authorisation can carry serious repercussions. Breaching planning regulations – even unintentionally – can leave homeowners having to submit a retrospective application.
Should this be turned down, the council can issue an enforcement notice demanding the air conditioning unit be taken down. Defying this notice is illegal and, if disregarded, could lead to prosecution.
Fitting a permanent air con unit without planning permission can also have considerable implications should the homeowner decide to put the property on the market. To finalise the sale, sellers must be able to demonstrate they obtained the required approvals. Without this, homeowners will need to either lodge a retrospective application or remove the alteration entirely.
More: “Air-con engineers told The Telegraph that they had been called out to remove perfectly operational units worth thousands of pounds across London.”
Save the world – Hang an Authoritarian.
But horse whip them first.
Experienced one of these UK heatwaves in 1973. Fortunately, at end of our stay, we were booked into an airport highrise hotel that had AC. We met a Canadian businessman who was based in London for his company’s executive year abroad.
Canadian businessman: “They hate us. They all hate us here and on the continent. It’s not politics, they hate us because we have central heating and air conditioning.”