Question 1

What's happening?

Accepted Answer

Westminster City Council plans to overhaul the Pimlico District Heating Undertaking (PDHU) which supplies heating and hot water to 3300 homes in Pimlico at an estimated cost of £133-211 million (and a lifetime cost of ~£400 million). This will have a huge impact on all residents with no guarantee that heating bills will reduce or that the service will improve. You’ll be expected to pay without having ownership or control of the system.

Question 2

What is the PDHU?

Accepted Answer

The Pimlico District Heating Undertaking (PDHU) supplies heating and hot water to around 3,300 homes in Pimlico, as well as 50 commercial premises, 3 schools and a post office. If you live on one of the following estates your heating and hot water comes from the PDHU:
Churchill Gardens Estate
Lillington and Longmoore Estate
Abbots Manor Estate
Russell House

The PDHU is owned and managed by Westminster City Council and is the oldest district heating system in the UK. It produces heat using gas boilers which are located in the "Pump House" on Churchill Gardens Estate. The hot water is distributed to properties via a network of underground pipes spanning over 5km across Pimlico.

Due to its age and poor maintenance by the council, the system is in need of major upgrades or replacement. The council is considering several options for the future — including installing new infrastructure, bringing in commercial heat suppliers, and possibly creating a larger district-wide system.

Question 3

How will this impact me?

Accepted Answer

The PDHU supplies heating and hot water to residents in Abbots Manor, Churchill Gardens, Lillington and Longmoore and Russell House, as well as 50 commercial premises, 3 schools and a post office. This affects council tenants, private tenants and leaseholders.

The council is considering several options for the future of the PDHU and the final decision will have a major impact on residents — from heating costs and how heat is controlled in your home, to the level of disruption during installation, and even how much residents might have to contribute financially.

Cost
The council currently estimate that the project will cost tens of millions of pounds, much of which will be recovered from residents:
   - up to £66k per leaseholder (or up to £140,000 over 25 years using the Council's repayment plan)
   - possible rent increases for tenants (past maximum rent hike was in part due to the need to pay towards the upgrade. We are concerned about the lack of detail from the council on how these major works could impact on any future rent increases)
   - increased heating tariff for all residents

Relocation
In addition to the cost, residents may have to leave their flats for the duration of the works. We have seen examples of major works on other estates where tenants have not been able to return to their original properties.

Compulsory Purchase Orders 
If residents don't comply with the major works, there is a risk that there will be Compulsory Purchase Orders by Westminster City Council.

Damage to properties
A new district heating system will require complete replacement of all pipework within properties. New pipework will likely need to be boxed in and will be unsightly. There is a risk of damage to the fabric of our flats with residents needing to replace damaged flooring and substantially redecorate. There is a particular risk of damage to bathrooms and kitchens requiring redecoration and replacement of the existing sanitaryware.

Timeline
The current project is expected to take at least ten years to complete, bringing prolonged uncertainty and disruption.

Community Impact
There are 5km of underground PDHU pipes across Pimlico. If the council choses to replace the existing PDHU with another district heating system, these will all need to be replaced, leading to years of disruption to roads, pavements and bus routes, as well as construction noise.

Is it legal?
Should residents pay for the replacement of a commercial system owned and neglected by the Council?

Reliability
Some of the heat sources being considered are unproven on this scale. No guarantee costs won't rise substantially from current estimates.

Impact on property values
Prices/saleability will be compromised due to potentially decades-long repayment plans to cover the major works bill.

Landlords
Your rent may be compromised due to ongoing works.

Private Renters
Due to increased monthly repayments to cover mayor works, landlords may sell up, put up rents, or prioritise short-term lets and AirBnBs.

Council Tenants
Impact on rent and services charges are not currently clear.  It's also not clear if tenants will need to move out whilst works take place and whether they will be able to return to their own homes following heating upgrades or if there will be pressure to downsize.

Question 4

Why does the council want to replace the PDHU?

Accepted Answer

The PDHU is nearly 70 years old and is in a state of disrepair due to poor maintenance. As a result, some properties on the Lillington and Longmoore estate have been experiencing floods due to burst pipes. Westminster believes that this project is needed to improve reliability and reduce repair costs.

Furthermore, the PDHU is powered by gas and Westminster Council have set itself a net-zero target of 2030. This is not in line with wider government targets or its internal policies with Section 4.3 of "Westminster City Council's Approach to delivering net zero targets by 2030" released on March 6, 2025 stating that "There are no direct fiscal penalties for the council not meeting our net zero targets, however there are indirect penalties associated with not taking some of the action required to deliver our targets. For example, there are direct costs associated with not meeting our corporate targets through continued exposure to high and volatile energy costs if we fail to make our buildings more energy efficient." No concrete building energy efficiency plans or budgets have been put in place for the blocks connected to PDHU and recently Labour announced blanket budget cuts on building retrofit programmes.

This group believes that Westminster has not made a strong enough case for this project that justifies the disruption and cost to residents.

Question 5

What options for replacing the PDHU are being considered?

Accepted Answer

Westminster City Council are currently considering 4 main options. All but one of these options involve retaining a district heating system, replacing all pipework across Pimlico and within properties, and replacing the energy source (options include heat pumps and thermal batteries ).

One option involves installing individual electric heating within each flat. This would include an electric boiler and wall-mounted electric heaters. This option would not require the replacement of all pipework and would likely be the cheapest solution in terms of installation cost. This option had originally been dismissed out of hand by the Council and is now being considered after considerable pressure from residents.

You can read more about the options here.

Question 6

Who are Pimlico Unites?

Accepted Answer

Pimlico Unites is a group of residents from Churchill Gardens, Russell House, Lillington & Longmoore Gardens, and Abbots Manor estates. We are concerned about the huge cost of the council's plans to replace the existing district heating network (PDHU) and the massive disruption that this is likely to cause to residents.

We attend regular PDHU working group meetings with Westminster Council's "Future of PDHU" team, as well as relevant council cabinet meetings. Our aim is to put pressure on the council to listen to the concerns of residents and provide challenge to the findings and assumptions of their consultation.

We are fortunate to have legal and technical experts in our group, including those with over 20 years of experience in the energy sector. Our experts meet regularly to scrutinise the output of the council's consultation.

Question 7

How can I get involved?

Accepted Answer

Pimlico Unites is liaising with the council to control costs and develop initiatives to address the challenges posed by the proposals. There are a number of ways that you too can get involved:

Join our mailing list to keep up to date with this campaign (see link in website footer)
Come along to resident working group meetings. These are held regularly, usually at Lillington or Churchill community halls (join the mailing list and check the events page of this website for details)
Come along to Westminster City Council PDHU meetings (join the mailing list and check the events page of this website for details)
Share this campaign with your friends and neighbours - the more support we have, the more influence we have. There are too many people who still don't know about this project and the risk that it poses to them.
Expert Advice: If you work in law, media, communications, finance, or engineering, we particularly welcome your input. Contact us on pimlicounites@gmail.com

Together, we can challenge these unfair costs and demand a fair solution. Don’t wait – get involved today!

Frequently asked questions