Recommendation 52

Government should prioritise and incentivise retrofitting over demolition by strengthening requirements to reuse, repurpose and refurbish buildings before any demolition. It is contrary to the Government’s environmental objectives to incentivise carbon-intensive new building over the re-use of existing sites. To encourage the retrofit and repurposing of existing buildings, the VAT on retrofit projects should be reduced from 20% to reflect environmental benefits and support uptake. Government should therefore confirm that a property brought back into use would count towards its, and a local authority’s housing target. (Recommendation, Paragraph 168) 94