Changes in policy and guidance

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) – the latest consultation of which Savills has just responded to – was most recently revised in December 2023 and added a new idea to paragraph 164. In determining planning applications, the new NPPF paragraph requires that the decision maker, ordinarily the local planning authority (LPA), must give ‘significant weight’ to energy efficiency measures (including those made to designated heritage assets) and this should be applied in conjunction with the ‘great weight’ attributed to the conservation of heritage assets included later on in section 16 of the NPPF. The new paragraph now directs decision makers to show that the need for improved energy efficiency and low carbon heating has been factored into the planning balance. It is a welcome move in the right direction.

Other guidance has also been updated to encourage the owners of historic buildings to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. The recent Historic England Advice Note: Adapting Historic Buildings for Energy and Carbon Efficiency reassures owners that mitigating climate change and conserving historic buildings are compatible goals and that the appropriate adaptation of historic houses is a key part of the solution for lower carbon emissions.

Practical measures

When thinking about how you might retrofit your Georgian home it is helpful to adopt a ‘whole building’ approach. This explores a building’s context to find a range of effective solutions that save energy and carbon, sustain heritage significance, and provide a safe and comfortable indoor environment.

It might be possible to improve energy efficiency through improving the performance of windows, doors, or the addition of insulation, or, you might wish to reduce the energy usage of your building through installing a heat pump or solar PV panels. Selecting the right options all depend on your specific building.

For example, Georgian buildings typically have elegant sash windows. However, a badly maintained, single glazed sash window will be a poor insulator. Options for improving the performance of the window include: repair and upgrade by a skilled professional, replacement of glazing, secondary glazing or even full replacement. Picking the right intervention will require a specialist to assess the potential thermal performance of each option, and understand the significance of the building and the contribution of the window to that significance; they can also advise if listed building consent should be sought.

Issues

No two buildings are truly alike so you will need to develop a bespoke solution. Many Georgian properties will have had major overhauls when the original lease expired and there can be many layers of alterations and additions. These layers of development can add to the architectural and historic interest of a house, but, they can also be harmful to this interest whilst also hindering the performance of the building.

Remember, if your building is listed or located in a conservation area it is likely that you will need listed building consent and/or planning permission to carry out many items of retrofit. You should speak to properly qualified consultants before embarking on your retrofit project.

Further information

Contact Trystan Lever

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