Air conditioning units must be hidden

CINEMA bosses have won the right to install new air conditioning units on their roof – provided they hide them from view.
Warrington Borough Council’s development control committee has given the go-ahead to a part-retrospective application for 17 air conditioning units on the roof of the Odeon at Westbrook.
But they have imposed a condition that a “false roof” be erected to hide the “unsightly” units.
Nearby residents objected when the cinema sought planning consent for the 17 units which, they claimed, were much larger than earlier ones. They were particularly angry because six of the units were fitted before planning permission was even applied for.
Councillors decided to visit the site before making a decision – although environmental protection chiefs raised no objections and planners pointed out that the nearest house was more than 55m from the cinema.
The Odeon claimed the new units were necessary to carry on operating the cinema in a functional manner as imminent changes in refrigerant gas regulations will mean the gas used in the existing units will no longer be available.
The existing roof-mounted heating and cooling units are 18-years-old and are operating beyond their anticipated life of 15 years. The new ones save energy, through increased efficiency, and are smaller in volume although about 300mm taller.
Changes in legislation mean that harmful CFC and HCFC ozone depleting gases are being phased out and will no longer be available after 2010.