‘Retrofit first’ must be law, says Mace report

Mace has called on the UK government and real estate sector to ramp up efforts to retrofit non-domestic buildings. It said the lack of focus on non-domestic retrofit was a “grave oversight”. The construction and consultancy giant has published a series of 12 recommendations in a report, which include providing more clarity on energy efficiency regulations for commercial buildings, reviewing retrofit funding allocations for the public sector and exploring new fiscal incentives around the reuse or recycling of materials in the built environment. Transform & Renew – Making non-domestic buildings fit for a low carbon future states that a presumption in favour of redevelopment should be enshrined in UK planning policy as a principle of “retrofit first”. Mace Construct chief executive Gareth Lewis said: “If construction is to reduce its impact on the environment, we must aim to reuse and repurpose as much of our existing building stock as possible. “Many buildings may not require demolition and can be transformed and renewed through retrofit into fantastic new assets, savings tonnes of embodied carbon in the process. We are therefore urging the government to mandate consideration of retrofit at the planning stage to avoid unnecessary demolition.” The report points out that existing non-domestic buildings represent 13% of UK building stock but account for 23% of carbon emissions from buildings, adding that more than 3.5m non-residential buildings will require retrofitting in the next 10 years. Mace Consult chief executive Jason Millett said: “Focus on retrofit in the UK by policymakers, quite rightly, has often been on the UK’s housing stock – but this has meant public and commercial buildings have often been overlooked. With more than 1.75m non-domestic buildings in the UK, the vast majority of which were built before 1970, it is critical this imbalance is addressed to pursue positive, sustainable change.” The report adds that including a “consideration of retrofit” for every major planning application that involves demolition would provide more certainty for developers and the wider industry. It said the measure would result in fewer schemes being suddenly halted following interventions by the secretary of state, as happened with Marks & Spencer’s Oxford Street redevelopment. But the report is not suggesting a ban on demolition. Lewis added: “Demolition can sometimes be necessary because of poor design or critical safety reasons, and it’s therefore important we avoid binary debates on new-build versus retrofit. If demolition is required, then the reasons for this should be made clear from the onset. Developers should also consider how elements of the building can be retained, reused or recycled – adopting a circular mindset to construction.” To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews