Better Warmer Homes: Learnings for scaling place-based retrofit

Insights for local authorities

Local authorities across the UK share a common goal: how to make homes warmer, healthier and more affordable while unlocking the wider economic and social value of retrofit. The Better Warmer Homes report distils three years of learning from 22 local authority-led projects to show how place-based innovation and partnership can turn retrofit from a policy ambition into a practical driver of local prosperity and well being.

The report opens by positioning retrofit as an enabler to meeting people’s needs, and not simply an end goal. Residents want lower bills, healthier homes and easier lives. Local leaders want thriving local economies and credible ways to deliver on their climate commitments. Businesses want confidence in demand and clearer routes to market. Retrofit, when done well, delivers on all three.

The report explains that any retrofit journey must start with understanding the true value of retrofit beyond carbon. An example from Cardiff Council’s modelling shows that every £1 invested could generate £5 in local health, social and economic benefits. Local authorities can use approaches like this to create compelling, evidence-led rationales for funding, enforcement and programme design.

Local authorities play important statutory roles both in housing standards and planning permissions, and these are important levers to enable and accelerate retrofit activity. It is crucial that they set, and enforce, retrofit measures, particularly in heritage and conservation areas which are often perceived as blockers to progress. Innovations from Westminster City, Rossendale, and Oxford demonstrate how local planning powers, community engagement, and creative use of Local Development Orders can streamline retrofit while protecting local character.

But clarity on standards alone doesn’t deliver upgrades. People do. The report highlights that supply chain capability, confidence, and quality remain some of the biggest barriers to scaling retrofit – and that councils have a powerful role by convening and investing in skills. Fife Council’s regional skills analysis illustrates what it takes to build a pipeline that is capable of meeting demand, by quadrupling the workforce, shaping education pathways, and aligning business growth with local needs.

Finally, scaling retrofit requires local residents to come on board and believe it is both possible and affordable. Several local examples, from York’s one-stop shop to Perth & Kinross’s digital knowledge hub, show how local authorities can bring together finance, advice, supply chains, and delivery into seamless services that remove friction for residents. These models demonstrate that when innovation is anchored in citizen needs, councils can unlock demand at pace.

The report concludes that local authority leadership is essential to bringing together the partnerships, evidence, standards, and services that make retrofit work for resident and business communities. This way, retrofit becomes a story of local renewal, delivering healthier homes, skilled jobs, business growth, and stronger communities.

Key findings

• Local authorities have a role to evidence the health, economic, and social benefits if they want to unlock internal support, external investment, and long-term commitment to retrofit.
• Clear, locally-relevant guidance and engagement with communities will help accelerate appropriate, high-quality retrofits, including in heritage and environmentally sensitive areas.
• This increasing demand though can only be met if councils are ready to convene the right partners and invest in local skills to build confident, capable supply chains.