Barriers to historic building retrofit

Published On: 11th February 2026

A New Grosvenor report warns that England’s three million listed buildings and conservation area homes are being trapped in cold, costly decline by an outdated planning system

Local authorities spend the equivalent of 4,000 working days a year approving low-risk energy efficiency works that are almost always consented anyway

Retrofitting listed properties and buildings in conservation areas in England and Wales could deliver around 30% of the annual emissions reductions needed to meet the UK’s Sixth Carbon Budget.

Our new Resources page has some useful retrofit guides.

Categories: UpdatesTags: Central Government, Decision taking, Environment and Climate, Heritage and Conservation, Permitted Development

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Barriers to historic building retrofit