Retrofit must be understood as a ‘placebased approach’ that shapes health, wellbeing and everyday life, not simply a building upgrade, according to a new paper from the National Retrofit Hub.
The paper, Health, Place & Retrofit: Findings and Recommendations for Change, says that retrofit must continue to meet statutory obligations on emissions reduction and fuel poverty alleviation, while also responding to the lived experiences of communities and the distinct identities of places. It argues that enabling communities to have a real and meaningful say in how outcomes are defined and achieved is critical to delivering lasting benefits.
The paper also highlights that most retrofit programmes still rely on predicted performance rather than measuring how homes actually perform once work is complete, despite repeated national audits calling for stronger outcome monitoring. Evidence shows that many of the benefits of retrofit are social and health related, including improved comfort, reduced damp and mould, and better wellbeing, yet these outcomes are rarely captured or valued.
Partners involved in developing the paper include Impact on Urban Health, Arup, and TrustMark, with strategic input from the Royal Academy of Engineering. It also draws on collaboration with Centric Lab and research contributions from Dr Kate Simpson, alongside insights from many practitioners, policymakers, community organisations, and residents who took part in workshops and interviews.
Key recommendations set out in the paper include broadening how success in retrofit is defined, so that health, comfort, and lived experience are valued alongside energy and carbon performance.
It also says real-world outcomes should be measured, not just predictions, by embedding post intervention monitoring to understand how homes actually perform once work is complete.
Communities should be supported to shape and assess outcomes, including through place-based approaches such as Community Health Impact Assessments.
Sara Edmonds, Co-Director of the National Retrofit Hub, said: “Retrofit is too often framed as a technical fix, when in reality it shapes people’s health, comfort, and daily lives. This paper shows that if retrofit is to succeed, we need to understand how homes are used in practice, how places differ, and how communities experience change.”
Helene Gosden, Associate Director at Arup, added: “The wider benefits of retrofit and good housing are well-known and feel intuitive but evidencing and communicating that value is hard. Arup joined this project with the shared ambition to...explore how understanding place and local need can shape design and deliver wider benefits, including improved health outcomes.” The report is online at nationalretrofithub.org.uk