A national planning and development consultancy is calling for urgent reform of government funding and planning policy to make deep retrofit projects financially viable for social landlords.
Thousands of older social housing estates remain energy-inefficient and costly to heat because current funding models do not support the realities of retrofitting historic buildings.
Without targeted investment, these estates risk being left behind, hindering the UK’s progress towards meeting its Net Zero by 2050 target.
A new report from Lichfields, in partnership with Pollard Thomas Edwards and Martin Arnold, highlights these challenges through a pioneering retrofit project at Old Barnsbury in Islington. The project was designed to improve energy efficiency while keeping residents in place but has stalled due to a lack of suitable funding mechanisms. Without urgent action, social landlords across the UK will face the same barriers.
Image: Old Barnsbury Estate - Pollard Thomas Edwards with Farrer Huxley
Jonathan Hoban, an Associate Director at Lichfields, said: "The UK has the expertise, the technology and the planning solutions to retrofit historic social housing at scale. But without the right funding and policy support, these projects simply aren’t financially viable for social landlords. The government must ensure that retrofit funding is tailored to the needs of older social housing estates, not just newer buildings where modern decarbonisation methods can be applied more easily.”
Unlike new builds, which can incorporate modern insulation, heating systems and energy-efficient materials from the outset, retrofitting historic social housing requires more complex solutions while keeping residents in their homes. However, government-backed decarbonisation grants are often designed for modern housing types, requiring measures that are impractical for older buildings.
Warrick Thomas, a Projects Partner at Pollard Thomas Edwards, said: “Older social housing estates like Old Barnsbury need more than simple fixes like new windows or loft insulation. These buildings weren’t designed with modern energy standards in mind and many of the government’s current funding schemes don’t support the kind of deep retrofit needed to make them truly energy efficient. The solutions exist, but without the right financial backing, they remain out of reach for most social landlords.”
The situation at Old Barnsbury is not unique. Across the UK, thousands of pre-war social housing estates require urgent energy efficiency upgrades, yet many social landlords face significant financial roadblocks. Without tailored funding and greater policy flexibility, many estates risk being left behind, locking residents into high energy costs and poor living conditions, while the UK’s Net Zero ambitions slip further out of reach.
Jonathan added: “Affordable providers are experiencing unprecedented viability challenges with modernising their existing stock of homes arising from build cost inflation, energy efficiency and fire safety requirements. Old Barnsbury proves that social housing can be retrofitted effectively, but unless the Government acts now to address the funding gaps, progress will stall.”
For more information on the Old Barnsbury Estate retrofit concept and how similar approaches could be applied across the UK, visit: https://lichfields.uk/content/insights/decarbonising-the-past
