✓ Granted
Commercial plant
Location
Belsize Road, London NW6
Planning authority
London Borough of Camden
Application
2026/1106/P
Decision
Granted, July 2026
Development
External plant for a new ground-floor commercial unit
Standards
BS 4142:2014+A1:2019, Camden plant noise criterion
Camden applies one of London's strictest plant noise criteria, and residential windows were close by. Every item of plant had to be counted.
The Scheme
A ground-floor commercial unit within a residential block needed four external air conditioning condensers, an MVHR system with external intake and exhaust terminals, and a small extract fan.
The Noise Issue
Camden requires plant noise to sit well below the existing background level at the nearest homes. With no confirmed operating restrictions, the night-time period had to be treated as the controlling case.
What We Did
01
Ran baseline monitoring over 24 hours in April 2026, following BS 4142 and the Institute of Acoustics good practice guide.
02
Adopted representative background levels of 46 dB by day and 45 dB at night, giving a Camden design limit of 35 dB.
03
Predicted the cumulative noise from all four condensers and the MVHR terminals operating together, at the shortest distances to the nearest windows.
04
Set out mitigation and good practice measures, including plant selection, installation and maintenance controls.
The Result
34 dB
Predicted cumulative plant noise
35 dB
Camden design limit
6
Items of plant assessed together
Planning Outcome
The precautionary assessment showed the plant would meet Camden's criterion. The London Borough of Camden granted the application in July 2026 (2026/1106/P).
Related services and guides
Decision details are taken from the council's public planning register and can be checked by searching the application reference on the council's planning portal. Client and site details are kept confidential.
