New Boiler in Newton Longville: The Old Village, Later Homes and Salden Chase

Newton Longville is about two miles south-west of Bletchley. It has a Milton Keynes postcode, MK17, but it is not in Milton Keynes: the parish sits in Buckinghamshire and is governed by Buckinghamshire Council. That matters more than you might think when you get a new boiler, and we come back to it below.

For boiler work the village splits into three kinds of house, and each needs a different conversation.

The old village and the conservation area

The oldest part of Newton Longville is small and old. St Faith's church has a nave dating back to the twelfth century, and Buckinghamshire's heritage records note cruck-built buildings at Church End and Westbrook End from as early as the fifteenth century, along with later timber-framed houses including the Manor House. The conservation area itself is compact, and it holds the Grade I church and a handful of Grade II listed buildings.

If your house is in the conservation area, or listed, a boiler replacement is still straightforward in principle. The care goes into the outside of the building:

• The flue position. In a conservation area, permitted development rights for a new flue are narrower: a flue on a wall or roof slope that forms the principal elevation, or a side elevation facing a road, is not automatically allowed. Reusing the existing flue position, or choosing a route at the back of the house, often avoids the question entirely.
• Listed buildings. If the house is listed, works that affect its character can need listed building consent, and a new flue through historic fabric can count. Check with Buckinghamshire Council before work starts, not after.
• Thatch and timber. A thatched roof or exposed timber frame changes where a flue terminal can sensibly go. We look at that on the survey rather than guess on the phone.

We wrote a longer guide for a similar situation in Stony Stratford's conservation area, and almost all of it applies here.

The rest of the village

Bricks were made in Newton Longville from 1847 until 1991. The works became part of the London Brick Company in 1929 and closed after Hanson bought the company. The village grew around that industry, and most homes outside the old ends are later houses and bungalows rather than cottages.

In these homes a new boiler is usually one of two jobs:

• A like-for-like swap. An old combi replaced with a modern one in the same place, or a regular boiler replaced like for like. The survey checks the flue clearances, the size of the gas pipe and the condition of the system.
• A conversion away from loft tanks. If the house still has tanks in the loft and a cylinder in the airing cupboard, the upgrade may be a combi, or a system boiler with an unvented cylinder if more than one bathroom is used at once. Our article on boiler upgrades sets out how to choose, including what to do with an old back boiler behind a gas fire.

Before either, we measure the mains pressure and flow. A combi can only deliver what the incoming main gives it, so that measurement decides more than the brand of boiler does.

Salden Chase: you probably do not need a new boiler

The new estate on the West Bletchley side of the parish is Salden Chase. Taylor Wimpey is building it, with around 1,800 homes planned and building under way since late 2024. Every boiler there was chosen and fitted by the housebuilder, and almost none need replacing.

What they do need is looking after. Under NHBC's Buildmark cover, the builder is responsible for putting right defects in the first two years. After that, the boiler relies on its manufacturer warranty, which normally depends on the boiler having been registered when it was fitted and serviced every year by a Gas Safe registered engineer. If you have moved into Salden Chase, find your Benchmark checklist, check the warranty is registered in your name, and book the first service before the builder's period ends. Our guide to new-build boilers in Milton Keynes has the detail.

Why Buckinghamshire Council matters

When a Gas Safe registered business installs a new boiler, it notifies the work to the local authority on your behalf and you receive a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate. Because Newton Longville is in Buckinghamshire, that notification goes to Buckinghamshire Council, not Milton Keynes City Council, even though your address says Milton Keynes. You do not need to do anything differently. It is worth knowing if a solicitor asks for the certificate when you sell, and it is the same council you would ask about planning or listed building questions.

What changes the price of a new boiler in Newton Longville

We do not publish prices. What the quote is made of:

• The type of job: a swap, a conversion from loft tanks, or a back boiler removal.
• The boiler: make, model, output and warranty length.
• The flue route: especially in the conservation area, where the compliant and acceptable route may not be where the old one went.
• The gas supply: older houses can have a gas pipe too small for a modern boiler.
• System cleaning and protection: a flush, a magnetic filter and inhibitor.
• Making good: old flue holes, boxing in and taking away the old boiler and any tanks.

If your home is not on mains gas, the job is different again. Our guide to LPG boiler installation covers that.

Getting a survey in Newton Longville

We are based at Grange Farm on the west side of Milton Keynes and work across Bletchley, Newton Leys and the villages to the south-west. A survey takes under an hour and you get a written, itemised quote afterwards. See our boiler installation in Bletchley page, read about our boiler installation service, or get in touch to book.

Sources

• Wikipedia, Newton Longville
• Buckinghamshire Heritage Portal, Newton Longville
• Buckinghamshire Council, Conservation areas in Buckinghamshire
• West Bletchley Council, Salden Chase update
• legislation.gov.uk, GPDO 2015 Class G: chimneys and flues
• NHBC, Buildmark: the first two years
• Gas Safe Register, New gas appliance installation