Retrofit: A working methodology: Part of Decarbonising the Social Housing Stock: A Retrofit Route Map

The following report was commissioned by Lewes & Eastbourne District Councils with the cooperation of the Greater Brighton Economic Board (GBEB). We have titled this particular report 'Retrofit: a working methodology' and as such it has drawn from the numerous complimentary studies that inform the overall study known as 'Decarbonising of Social Housing' (DOHS). We would therefore recommend that you read this report in parallel with the more comprehensive DOHS report.

This particular report considers, in exacting detail, the architectural and construction interventions required to meet pre-agreed low carbon performance benchmarks for eight typical house-types commonly found in the GBEB region. Three of these are considered as 'deep dive' studies, with the other five learning from these.
With the climate and ecological emergency impacting on everybody’s lives, together with the current energy and resources crisis, the need to retrofit the UK's housing stock has never been more crucial. However, it is potentially a massive undertaking, requiring the training of architects, surveyors, engineers and building contractors, to ensure that a nationwide retrofit programme is done correctly from the point of view of performance (building physics, low carbon, and build quality) and of course it has to be cost-effective.

Lewes & Eastbourne District Councils have in excess of 6,500 homes between them, with GBEB having over 45,000. The objective of the DOHS study is to provide a comprehensive retrofit 'route map' or 'tool kit' for social housing providers in the Greater Brighton Economic Board region which currently comprises seven local authorities in South East England.