Resident Working Group meeting raises more questions than it answers

At yesterday’s Resident Working Group meeting at Westminster Hall, Pimlico residents pressed Westminster Council for clarity on its proposed heat network project — and received answers that raise more questions than they resolve.

Funding Shortfall Revealed

After repeated questioning, the Council admitted that the scheme would only attract around £10 million in green energy grants. This figure falls well short of the cost difference between the direct electric (DE) and heat network options, despite earlier assurances that external funding would make the heat network the financially superior choice.

What Does “Affordable” Really Mean?

The Council’s evaluation process includes a category called “Affordability for residents.” Yet when asked to define what “affordable” actually means in concrete terms, no figure was provided. Residents voiced strong concerns that this undermines the credibility of the scoring process.

One resident captured the issue clearly:

“As residents directly impacted by these decisions, we are entitled to transparency, especially when affordability is used to justify the selection process. Without a defined benchmark (e.g. percentage of income, alignment with Local Housing Allowance, or Universal Credit levels), the term ‘affordable’ becomes vague and potentially misleading. Without such clarity, they could charge as much as a million per home and still claim it was ‘affordable’.”

Affordability should be judged against what residents actually earn and receive in benefits, not vague or abstract figures. PDHU heating and hot water charges are already more expensive than running independent boilers, so if bills take up too much of people’s income or rise even further beyond current high costs, it cannot reasonably be called affordable, no matter what label the Council puts on it.

Until the Council provides a measurable and evidence-based affordability threshold, residents say the scoring in this category is just words on paper, not something real that can be checked or trusted.

Scaremongering Around Direct Electric

Concerns were also raised about the way the direct electric option has been presented. The Council highlighted fears of high electricity bills without acknowledging that PDHU costs are already very high. One resident highlighted that in 2024, a flat on Lillington Gardens with a gas boiler had an annual heating cost of £273, while an identical flat in the same block on PDHU district heating paid £1,756 — a difference of nearly £1,500.

In addition, the presentations included misleading images of large boilers and bulky water tanks (DE Variation 3 option) — equipment that would never be installed in Pimlico flats — instead of realistic examples, such as compact combi boilers (DE Variation 4 option). The Council said it would advance the bulky water tank option, but residents insisted that it is the compact DE combi boiler that should remain under consideration. It remains unclear whether the Council will honour this agreement.

Doubts Over Heat Pump Efficiency

The Council also claimed that River Source Heat Pumps (RSHP) would deliver an efficiency ratio of 3:1, producing three units of heat for every unit of energy consumed. Experts point out that this fails to account for the cold temperature of the Thames, where a more realistic forecast would be closer to 2:1. Crucially, no modelling has yet been carried out to reflect river temperature effects.

Residents Demand Transparency

The meeting left many residents feeling that important details are being omitted or misrepresented. With affordability, accuracy, and transparency all in doubt, Pimlico Unites will continue to push for fair, clear, and resident-focused decision-making. If you haven't already, sign our petition to calling to pause the consultation https://chng.it/7TxpbmtBpr.