Retrofit Taskforce

The Retrofit Taskforce is working to identify any revisions to current planning policies that will streamline high-quality retrofit, whilst prioritising a ‘Retrofit First’ approach to planning applications.

This workstream will include scoping opportunities within the current planning system to encourage, enable and mandate responsible retrofit. Responsible retrofit will enable a reduction in the buildings operational carbon, whilst improving the buildings resilience to the impacts of climate change. 

Objectives

The planning policy and process workstream has the potential to: 

• ensure planning policies enable more retrofit to be delivered and that perceived barriers to retrofit are mitigated, including simplifying the planning process where possible.
• explore where current retrofit standards can be included within policies and the extent to which implementation of responsible retrofit may be mandated. 
• optimise opportunities within our City Plan and Environmental Supplementary Planning Document to embed retrofit in planning policy. 
• establish a clear balanced position between heritage conservation and sustainability. 
• review consent and permission regimes and opportunities that they offer, for example, Heritage Partnership Agreements, Local Listed Building Consent Order, and Local Development Orders.   
• upskill our Planning Policy and Planning Officers to enable the implementation of revised policies and appropriate reviews of planning applications

Work to date

The Retrofit taskforce has:  

• commenced reviewing policies in relation to sustainability and retrofit, by engaging with our Planning Policy Officers specifically on the emerging ‘Retrofit First’ planning policy. 
• engaged with internal stakeholders on questions and provocations drafted in research phase and agreed internal and external interventions to pursue. 
• published ‘Retrofit How-to’ guides on common retrofit measures. 

We also scoped a challenge paper on current barriers to effective retrofit at scale in Westminster, which included the following challenges and discussion points: 

• develop planning policy that supports retrofit  
• improve pre-planning and validation requirements for retrofit 
• streamline the planning process for retrofit 
• use planning powers to improve construction standards 
• tackle the challenging interface between retrofit and heritage 
• improve retrofit knowledge of decision makers 
• financially incentivise retrofit 
• identify and learn from exemplar buildings