Recommendation 38

Retrofit and reuse of existing buildings, where practicable, should be prioritised over new build to conserve resources, minimise embodied carbon emissions, reduce demolition waste and deliver cost-effective solutions to delivering on housing demand. Local authorities and housing developers are expected to balance multiple objectives when meeting housing needs, and therefore require a coherent policy framework to support the balancing of retrofit and new, low-carbon housing delivery. The Government states it is promoting the benefits of re-using and retrofitting ahead of demolition, but we have seen limited evidence to demonstrate that this is yet the case. In some cases, reforms to permitted development rights appear to have created a perverse incentive for demolition and new-build over retrofit. We are concerned that the amendment to permitted development rights which allowed demolition and replacement was introduced without full consideration of its potential impact on sustainability and on carbon emissions. In our view, permitted development conversions should deliver low-carbon homes: regrettably, in some areas they have established a legacy of sub-standard properties that will need to be retrofitted in the future.