Tag Archives: heatpumps

11 December 2020: Article in Building magazine (and here) reporting that major developer British Land has said its £3.3bn mixed use Canada Water scheme will be fossil fuel free to help meet its target for a net zero carbon property portfolio by 2030. Encouragingly British Land’s Head of Development, Philip Tait, states that “improvements in heat pump technology meant it was easier for buildings to be all electric than when the buildings were designed four years ago.” Tait goes on to say that “Site-wide heat networks are a popular choice for large developments but Tait said he was wary about adopting one at Canada Water. Tait said: “It’s easy to say go for a centralised heating network. We don’t know if this is exactly the right thing to do yet. We want to keep things open and flexible to do the right thing as technology changes.”

The Canada Water scheme will eventually turn 53 acres of rundown land in south-east London into a new town centre and 3,000 homes. In February, it overcame the last major planning obstacle when London Mayor decided not to call it in. Further information on the energy strategy to be adopted for the site is set out in the Southwark Planning Committee report on the development from September 2019 – available here (see agenda item 5.1 main report) or directly here (see page 211 onwards).