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What's stopping community retrofit?

Updated: Sep 2

As part of the Retrofit 25 Exhibition – What’s Stopping Us? at the Building Centre, Collective Works, Footwork, and The National Retrofit Hub brought together six community innovators for an honest, energised conversation about their journeys, their impact, and what’s getting in their way:


  • Sister Midnight Community Venues (People and Place 2024), who are working to transform a grassroots music venue in Lewisham;

  • Makespace Oxford (People and Place 2025), who are working to unlock access to vacant space in the county;

  • Terraces on the Tracks, a group of neighbours working together to build a collective approach to retrofitting their railway cottage homes

  • The Remakery – a maker space focussing on material reuse in Brixton

  • HEAL – a group of residents focused on developing the infrastructure for collective community-led retrofit action by building literacy, trust, confidence and motivation for positive change

  • Our Yard at Clitterhouse Farm (People and Place 2025), a community café, garden and event space in a heritage asset within the Brent Cross regeneration area. 


What's needed from funders, local authorities and built environment professionals to support community-led retrofit for neighbourhood transformation?


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