Designed by architect Neave Brown in 1968, Alexandra Road estate is heated by an innovative system of “radiant walls”.
These keep homes warm during the winter months through heated coils embedded in the dividing concrete walls of the estate, often referred to as Rowley Way.
But Camden Council has now proposed replacing this system with individual heating units and radiators in each flat.
The local authority claims that the 50-year-old pipework suffers from “extreme corrosion and leaks”, which makes the heating and hot water on the estate “unreliable”.
Repairs have cost more than £800,000 since 2016, with £200,000 also spent each year on “routine maintenance”.
The council adds that the new system would give tenants and leaseholders “more personal control” over their heating. Currently, the estate’s “radiant walls” cannot be individually turned on or off.
But hundreds of people living in Rowley Way have opposed the plans, claiming it will “irreversibly damage” its architecture with bulky pipework.
Sara Bell, secretary of the estate’s Tenants and Resident’s Association, has derided Camden’s approach as a “complete and utter nonsense”.
She said: “The heating is designed for the building, and the building is designed for the heating – it’s as one and it’s a fabulous system.
“But this just doesn’t seem to be taken into consideration at all by Camden.
“They’re going to be putting all the distribution pipework outside, which is going to ruin the facades as well as the inside our flats.”
The “outdated” proposals are largely unchanged from those put forward but never implemented by the council 15 years ago, added Sara, a tenant who has lived on the estate for the past four decades.
“We appreciate that something needs to change but not what they are proposing,” she explained.
“The council think we all want to be able to control our heating. But at the end of the day, we live on the Alexandra Road Estate and it’s Grade-II* listed – we like that it’s different.”
Neighbours also fear that losing the background heat from their walls will lead to mould and condensation in their homes, something they have never had a problem with before.
“Tenants and leaseholders are all talking as one,” Sara said. “We’re all trying to get the best thing for the building.
“Camden should be doing something exemplary for it. But this will be a disaster for them financially, for us as the people who live here and for the building.”
She added that neighbours supported plans to install double glazing on the estate, something the council has also proposed.
Camden Council claims that its plans have been “fully discussed” with its conservation officers and Historic England.
A spokesperson added: “The project is complex given the listed nature of the estate – but our proposed scheme allows us to preserve the integrity of the original design.
“For example, we are upgrading the large windows with vacuum sealed glazing to reduce heat loss, which will allow us to reduce the size of the radiators in each flat.”
