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SELCHP Extension Works - Phase 1

In 2019, we looked into the idea of extending the SELCHP heat network to the Old Kent Road area and some housing estates in Peckham.

We found that extending the SELCHP network was the best way to help the area and reduce our carbon footprint.

This extension will take heat from the plant and use it to provide heating and hot water to around 4,300 extra homes in Southwark. This will make the plant work better and give cheaper heating and hot water to the people living in those homes. The heat will replace the gas that is currently used in our boilers.

By connecting all these homes to SELCHP, Southwark expects to achieve a carbon footprint reduction of about 13,000 tons of CO2 per year.

The project is set up so that Veolia ES Southwark Limited (VESS) will pay for all the costs of installing and maintaining the pipes and equipment, as well as the current boilers. In return, the Council will agree to buy the heat at a price lower than the cost of using the current gas boilers.

The Council will still be responsible for the pipes from the boilers to individual homes, and this work will be done by the current maintenance contractors

The extension proposal could supply heat from SELCHP to the following estates:

  • Tustin
  • Brimmington
  • Pomeroy
  • Ledbury
  • Hoyland
  • Acorn
  • Cossall
  • Bells Gardens
  • Sceaux Gardens
  • North Peckham.
  •  Gloucester Grove

The extension programme is divided into three phases:

  1. Early Works: This phase has already been completed and was funded by Veolia. The pipes have been installed from the Brimmington Boiler House, through Brimmington Park, to the bottom of Ilderton Road.
  2. Phase 1: This phase is currently ongoing. It includes installing new pipes from SELCHP to the redeveloped Tustin estate and connecting them to the Early Works pipes. This work is entirely funded by the Council.
  3. Phase 2: This phase will involve installing pipes from the Brimmington Boiler House to the rest of the network and the proposed estates.
Photo showing a worker looking through a window into the incinerator

Planned extension map

Phases

Phases overview
Phase 1: SELCHP Extension Works - Phase 1
SELCHP Extension Works - Phase 1

SELCHP Extension Works - Phase 1

9 December 2024 00:00 - 1 May 2026 23:00

This is the heat network extension from SELCHP to the redeveloped Tustin estate blocks C and G1 and to the Early Works pipework, already constructed, which carries on down the Ilderton Road, across the Old Kent Road, across Brimmington Park and reaches the Brimmington estate boiler house.

As of November 2025, 95% of the works have been completed.

Various stages of the district heating network construction

08/04/26 Update:

The construction phase of the district heating network is now complete.

Veolia is now completing the commissioning phase where the pipes are pressure tested and flushed to remove dirt and deposits from the construction phase. Water quality is of paramount importance to ensure longevity of the network.

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