Editor: Michael Gove’s decision on the Marks & Spencer proposals for its Oxford Street store (pictured) has triggered debate not just in the property sector, but beyond it. Somewhat remarkably, the challenges of retrofit and the issue of embodied carbon are now part of a national conversation.
This issue is about more than one individual case or decision. However, raising the profile of the discussion is important to highlight and define the role of retrofit, which will play a significant role in meeting the UK’s net zero targets.
The scale of both the challenge and opportunity at hand should not be underestimated – and skills sit at the heart of the issue. Our ability to weigh up choices in retrofit versus rebuild relies on delivering significant investment in building specialist supply chains. To meet growing demand, we need a 10-fold expansion of construction’s retrofit capacity, driven by recruitment, retention of existing workforces and long-term investment in local clusters of expertise and activity.
This investment in skills also needs to extend to clients and professional teams guiding decisions from an early stage.
What will help make the case for this investment is a clear pipeline of work around which capacity can be built. Initiatives such as the mayor of London’s Retrofit Accelerators for homes and for workplaces are helping to do this, and encouraging other local authorities and government departments to adopt comparable schemes.
A larger, skilled supplier base will help keep future delivery costs down, with the potential to improve viability of alternative routes. It can also enable better benchmarking to guide informed decisions that accurately assess the best course of action for a specific asset.
While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, the recent conversation around retrofit should offer confidence for developers, asset owners and contractors that this is a sector very much worth investing in.
Richard McWilliams, director, sustainability, Turner & Townsend
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