One of the UK’s leading organisations for building design professionals has released a new plan to future-proof homes across England through a National Retrofit Programme.
The Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) has outlined the Programme in a new report, Beyond the Warm Homes Plan: A National Retrofit Programme for people and planet, published today.
Under the proposals, which build on the Government’s “Warm Homes Plan”, a combination of grant and low-interest loans would be used to finance design-led, holistic retrofits of the England’s homes, ensuring that that are not simply warm in winter, but healthy all year round, affordable to run, sustainable and resilient to a changing climate.
Key recommendations from the Report include combining the numerous separate funding pots and support schemes for home energy efficiency improvements into a single, streamlined Programme, removing VAT on retrofit measures, providing “home instruction manuals” to support households to get the best performance from new, energy efficient systems, and implementing a lower rate of stamp duty for the most energy efficient homes.
President, Eddie Weir PCIAT, said: “Everyone deserves a healthy, safe home. But too many homes in this country are poor quality, excessively cold in winter and hot in winter. This poor housing contributes to ill health, costing the NHS around £2.5 billion per year. Housing is also a key contributor to climate change, with residential building responsible for 12% of UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2023.
“By tackling these challenges in a coordinated way, government has the opportunity to deliver profound benefits to households, boost productivity, and provide high-quality, well-paid jobs right across the country.
“And, by abolishing VAT on retrofit measures, and lowering Stamp Duty for the best performing homes, government can create a commercial market for healthy, sustainable homes over the long term.
Chair of the CIAT Climate Society, Chris Halligan MCIAT, said: “The UK Climate Change Committee has made it clear that we need to rapidly decarbonise our homes over the next two decades, in order to achieve Net Zero by 2050, as part of global efforts to limit warming. But more than that, our homes need to be resilient to the climatic changes we are already living through.
“The good news is, we already have the technology to deliver such a transformation in our homes. Technologies such as air source heat pumps are now tried and tested, including in cold countries such as Norway.
“This plan provides a blueprint for Government to accelerate the roll-out of these measures, so that everyone can benefit from them.”
The plan is available to read here.
