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Getting started with community-led retrofit

Guest author: Sara Edmonds, National Retrofit Hub


When local people take on buildings and land to make a positive change in their neighbourhoods, it’s not long before energy costs, environmental impact and the building’s condition come top of mind.


The built environment contributes 40% of global GHG emissions, and 80% of the buildings that will exist in 2050 already exist today. That makes retrofit the essential path to reaching the UK’s legally binding climate targets, helping create resilient, healthy neighbourhoods.


Done well, retrofit also supports broader missions like housing justice or health equity, rather than being an end in itself. Beyond energy alone, it’s about people, care, affordability, health and long-term wellbeing.


That’s why community innovators are often best placed to lead retrofit efforts, because of their long-term stewardship, local accountability, and ability to bring together the right partners. Community-led and civic society groups of all kinds (from Community Land Trusts to mutual aid networks to socially-trading businesses) tend to hold collaborative, trusted relationships in their place, putting local priorities first.


So what should you consider when retrofitting community assets? Here are a few of my tips, shared at the recent Technical Huddle with the community innovators taking part in People and Place 2025.


Contents:

Image: West Marsh Development Trust is working to unlock and retrofit three properties in Grimsby.


Step 1: Assess the building


The first step is understanding the building that you have. Walk around it and take it in: what condition is it in? Is the roof leaking? Are the windows cracked or draughty? Can you feel the wind blowing through? And what opportunities to you notice?


Once you’ve looked around, felt the atmosphere and even smelt the space, you’ll have a pretty good sense of which areas need most attention – and as the building steward and occupant, you know how the space is going to be used day to day.


However, to get a full picture, you’ll need to work with a professional who can help you carry out a more comprehensive assessment, such as a retrofit assessor or surveyor. What’s key is that they understand both retrofit and your goals.


Look for someone with experience in building diagnostics and in energy-efficient retrofitting, who knows how to assess existing systems and materials holistically. They should be up-to-date on current building regulations, sustainability standards, and cost-effective upgrade strategies.


"This needs to be someone who understands that you’re going to take this building on a journey over time, towards being more efficient to run, more comfortable to use, and more resilient to future shocks, like rising energy costs and extreme weather."

Their role is to help you paint a picture of what is possible over the life of the building, and within your budget, to set you on the right path. This is called taking a ‘whole building approach’. Crucially, that doesn’t mean doing everything at once; it means taking action now without closing off future options.


A good professional can:


  • Identify your building type and condition

  • Highlight high-risk areas like damp or structural issues

  • Estimate energy performance (especially important if the building has been vacant or lacks recent usage data)


You can find qualified professionals through:


Also consider:

  • RetrofitWorks – a cooperative of vetted retrofit professionals across the UK

  • Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) – offers guidance and sometimes referrals to local experts

  • Local authority schemes – like Cosy Homes Oxfordshire or Warmer Homes Scotland, which can connect you with approved contractors

  • Universities – some offer student support with building modelling and assessments, though note that liability may be limited

  • Online directories – e.g., The Green Register or LinkedIn (search for “retrofit coordinator,” “building surveyor,” or “sustainable design”)


Step 2: Assess your needs


In parallel with the physical assessment, take the time to review the human side of your building.


Ask yourself:


  • Who is going to use this space – now and in the future?

  • What times of day? Is it seasonal or all year?

  • Will it be open to the public, including children?

  • Does the whole building need to be heated or just part of it?

  • Is affordability, comfort, or safety most urgent?


This helps shape your priorities. For example, is year-round comfort the top concern? Then you might want to tackle the draughty windows and damp walls. Are you trying to cut bills fast? Then solar panels might be your first investment. Or will public access require particular upgrades?


Community-led retrofit is not a tick-box exercise. Limited resources means making smart decisions, rooted in the way the building will actually work for people.


Amahra is working to acquire a former stables building and former school house in Ladywood, Birmingham, to transform them under Black-led community stewardship.


Step 3: Repair, then improve


At this point, a retrofit designer or architect, or community retrofit groups like Home Energy Action Lab (HEAL), can help you identify some high-level options and how to phase your improvements over time.


Most community groups can’t afford to do everything at once — and that’s OK. What matters is sequencing:

"You’ve got to repair stuff before you do anything to improve it. You don’t want to put insulation on your roof before repairing the hole in it, or you could be left with the risk of cold, damp and mould."

It's just as important to avoid ‘regret spend’: things you later have to undo. For example, installing solar panels before repairing the roof might mean ripping them off when you need roof access later.


Community buildings come in all shapes, sizes and histories, and your plan needs to respond to that. You might be working with railway arches, garages, post-industrial units, studios, residential or heritage buildings.


Each of these needs a bespoke plan, both physically and financially. This is where feasibility studies come in: they help you understand what’s possible, how to phase it, and what funding or professional support you’ll need.


Step 4: Engage professionals as enablers, not owners


Retrofit has technical components – but that doesn’t mean professionals should take the lead.


Good partners will be those who enable you, rather than dictating the project as top-down experts.


"As community organisations, you know your values and your red lines, and these should shape the design from the start."

That might mean:

  • Retaining control over key decisions

  • Documenting the design details that matter to you (e.g. natural materials, indoor air quality, embodied carbon)

  • Writing these clearly into contracts – so they can’t be swapped out for potentially lower quality, apparently cheaper, short-term alternatives


Let’s say you can’t afford the professional services of an architect or retrofit designer for the whole project (not unusual for community-led retrofits), you’ll need to be clear on the design suggestions you’re committed to from those discussions and designs, so that later on, a contractor doesn’t convince you to go for a ‘cheap’ alternative that undermines what you’re trying to achieve.


For instance, PIR insulation may cost less but can be poor at preventing overheating, while wood fibre insulation in some contexts can support the creation of steady state environments, allowing both heat to be retained as well as preventing overheating in roof spaces for example.


It’s also about building broader relationships. Where full design teams aren’t affordable, look to trusted intermediaries (architects, advisors, peer networks) who can act as allies.


The National Retrofit Hub is exploring new models to bridge that gap:

  • CSR-supported expert input (e.g. from Sustainability Engineers)

  • Grouping community projects to streamline support

  • A ‘street demonstrator’ programme with CIVIC SQUARE, We Can Make, and Retrofit Balsall Heath that is aimed at showcasing open-source tools and peer learning opportunities


Leslie and Dheila (part of People and Place 2025) are working to re-activate The Granville and create a community-led vision and design, involving retrofit in collaboration with the freeholder.

Step 5: Know the basics of energy efficiency and materials


You don’t need to be a technical expert, but having some baseline knowledge helps you make informed, confident decisions and ask the right questions to your technical partners. For instance:


  • Reducing energy demand typically comes before generating new energy (e.g. sealing draughts, protecting good ventilation, insulating walls and roofs, and fixing issues, before installing renewables);

  • Natural materials (like wood fibre insulation or lime plaster) can improve indoor comfort and support long-term building health;

  • EPC ratings are nuanced – some retrofit actions may unintentionally lower scores, so interventions must be planned holistically. Understanding metrics like Building Emissions Rate vs. Primary Energy Use is critical when planning for renewables;

  • Some innovations like reclaimed MDF insulation boards are emerging, but certification and suitability needs checking.


Step 6: Link retrofit to skills and jobs


Community-led retrofit is just as much about people and livelihoods as the physical building, and can help shape the local skills economy.


Groups like B for Box and Canopy Housing show what’s possible when retrofit becomes a source of long-term local employment – offering an alternative to short-term, token apprenticeships that are sometimes seen with large contractors.


Look for partners who can help shape training opportunities that directly link to your project, such as Back to Earth (a wood fibre supplier and trainer). You provide the building, they deliver materials and training, and the local workforce gains real valuable skills


Step 7: Be prepared for fundraising


Construction work, including repair and retrofit, isn’t cheap – and funding isn’t always fair. Postcode-based criteria can lock out some communities, especially mixed-tenure scenarios. Advocacy is needed to reform these systems.


Still, there are sources to tap into:


  • Local funds like Hackney’s Community Energy Fund (offering £12k feasibility grants)

  • Regional support via Net Zero Hubs (e.g. the Greater South East Net Zero Hub, although funding has recently been cut)

  • National sources including UK Power Networks, the Energy Redress Scheme

  • Foundations are increasingly linking retrofit to health, equity, and resilience


More funders are waking up to the broader impact of community-led infrastructure, so keep an eye out for opportunities with less likely sources of investment.


Building for the long term


"Retrofit is not just a technical problem; it’s a relational one."

At National Retrofit Hub, we’re focusing as much as possible on community-wide approaches, based in place, rather than isolated building-by-building upgrades. And this holistic approach is one that community organisations are best placed to lead in their neighbourhoods, with the right support from local authorities, funders and other players.



Paulette, another People and Place community innovator, is working to take on and restore the historic Clitterhouse Farm.

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