Building the system our homes and neighbourhoods need

By Rachael Owens and Sara Edmonds, Co-Directors, National Retrofit Hub 

Across the retrofit sector, people are working hard to improve homes. Community organisations are building trust in their neighbourhoods. Businesses are developing their workforce, while local authorities are finding ways to build supply chains and deliver programmes under difficult conditions. 

There is considerable experience to build on. Yet too often, the current system means we focus on short-term direct outcomes, without building lasting capacity, skill and quality.  

A successful project ends, but the team cannot be retained. An organisation develops relationships with residents, then funding disappears. A business wants to take on apprentices but cannot see a dependable pipeline of work. 

If we want retrofit to become part of everyday life, we need to ask what enables progress to continue. What are we building that will still be here when an individual programme ends? 

Invest in the conditions for delivery 

The Government’s Warm Homes Plan provides an important opportunity to improve homes, but making the most of that investment requires us to strengthen the system that supports delivery. This means supporting the people who coordinate programmes and help residents navigate decisions, alongside the relationships that enable organisations to work together and solve problems. 

That capacity takes time to develop and needs support beyond individual funding rounds. We cannot expect experienced teams and trusted local partnerships to be assembled whenever a new funding window opens, only to lose them when the programme ends. 

Alongside the improvements made to homes, we should consider what investment leaves behind and whether it strengthens the local capability to keep delivering. Installers need enough confidence in future work to develop their teams, while local authorities need to retain, support and develop experienced staff rather than repeatedly rebuilding their capacity. For people in their homes and communities, a dependable system means knowing where to turn for advice and trusting that support will remain available throughout the process. We need a system of care and repair on repeat for our homes that people can rely on. 

Connect national direction with local knowledge 

Long-term national commitment and clarity gives the sector confidence to plan, while local flexibility allows that commitment to translate into approaches that reflect the places where people live. Every neighbourhood has its own circumstances, shaped by the condition of its homes and the history of investment in the area, as well as people’s experience of the organisations offering help. 

Local organisations bring an understanding of these conditions, while people know how their homes behave and what changes would make the greatest difference to their lives. Someone living in their home knows which bedroom becomes unbearable in summer and how their household uses the space; they also understand what disruption they can manage. People should be enabled to translate that knowledge to inform decisions early enough to influence the work. 

Meaningful community participation gives people a role in shaping what happens in their homes and neighbourhoods, beyond being asked to accept a programme that has already been designed. Our work through Retrofit Connect shows the value of supporting organisations rooted in their communities, whose experience can help the wider sector understand what makes delivery possible and where existing approaches need to change. 

Define success through people’s lives 

Energy and carbon savings remain essential, but understanding whether retrofit has worked also means looking at people’s experience of their homes. Can they afford to keep them comfortable, and have problems such as persistent damp been addressed, have health outcomes improved? We need to understand how homes cope during hot weather and whether residents feel confident using new technologies. 

These questions should shape what we prioritise when work is planned, as well as what we measure once it is complete. Health needs must inform decisions if we want healthier homes, while preparing for a changing climate requires attention to summer conditions alongside winter warmth. 

Considering the whole home helps us understand how improvements interact, while looking at the wider neighbourhood brings the shared conditions affecting people’s lives into view. It also broadens our understanding of the value retrofit can create, including secure local employment and stronger community organisations. These benefits need to be considered when programmes are designed, with support in place to help realise them. 

Build confidence through quality and learning 

People need confidence that work will be done well and that someone will take responsibility if it goes wrong. This depends on competent delivery and effective coordination, supported by information that helps everyone involved make informed decisions. 

Understanding how homes perform once improvements are in use allows us to assess whether they deliver the intended benefits and apply that learning to future work. Practical delivery experience should also inform policy, with routes for organisations to raise barriers and help shape the changes needed to address them. 

A stronger system creates space for this exchange, allowing what happens in people’s homes to influence decisions about how programmes are designed and delivered. 

Turn a shared vision into action 

At our September Summit, Retrofit, Obviously!, we brought people together around a shared vision for a stronger retrofit system, making space for perspectives that are too often missing from discussions about delivery. Housing journalist and author Vicky Spratt brought attention to the lived reality of housing insecurity, while Immy Kaur, co-founder of Civic Square, explored the role of communities in shaping change in their neighbourhoods. Jon Alexander, author of Citizens, challenged us to recognise people as active participants with the power to shape the systems affecting their lives. 

There was a sense of shared purpose as people recognised their own work in the experiences being discussed and connected with others facing similar challenges. There was a sense of shared purpose as people recognised their own work in the experiences being discussed and connected with others facing similar challenges. The afternoon panels, covering topics including health and homes as well as social value and procurement, showed the depth of knowledge and commitment already within the sector. They also showed the opportunity to build on this work through a more connected approach. 

Our report, A Vision for a Strong Retrofit System, sets out seven foundations for that work, connecting long-term national direction with the flexibility to respond locally. Shared decision-making runs through the vision, alongside an approach that considers whole homes and neighbourhoods and judges success through outcomes that matter to people. Delivering this requires lasting capacity, supported by the quality and confidence that allow the system to grow. 

The next step is to apply this framework to the decisions we each influence. Commissioners can use procurement to strengthen local capability, while delivery organisations can value the role of people in communities, delivering and measuring the outcomes that matter most to them. Policymakers have a responsibility to both create certainty and ensure practical, local experience informs programme design, with opportunities to respond when existing approaches create barriers. 

Although none of us controls the whole system, we each have a role in strengthening it and supporting the people whose work connects with our own. A strong retrofit system depends on sustaining those relationships over time, so that investment creates better homes and a sector with the capability and confidence to keep delivering them.