Should we consider retrofitting to save the planet?
According to a report commissioned by the National Trust, Historic England, and leading property organisations, retrofitting the UK’s historic buildings will support £35bn of economic output annually.
Improving the energy efficiency of these historic properties, those built before 1919, could reduce carbon emissions and play a crucial role in achieving climate targets.
From Georgian townhouses to the mills and factories that kickstarted the Industrial Revolution, historical buildings account for almost a third of all commercial properties and a quarter of UK homes. Due to their build, these heritage sites are responsible for a significant proportion of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. However, rather than demolish them, the report is calling for investment to retrofit and improve energy efficiency by installing new windows and heating systems. Retaining these buildings alone, rather than tearing them down and creating new developments, will save thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions being emitted into the atmosphere.
The organisations behind the ‘Heritage & Carbon’ report have called on the government to work with industry to package together skills, training, funding, standards, and advice into a national retrofit strategy, as the UK only has half the skilled workers needed to retrofit all old buildings.
There are many, many pubs across the UK which are located within historic properties. Their quirkiness and heritage has become iconic across the world and many overseas visitors are keen to buy a pint in some of the oldest British establishments. So many pub chains have created pubs within ancient buildings. This year alone, Green King revealed plans to turn an old Victorian bank in Bath into a pub, while old post offices, cinemas, banks, and ballrooms often lay empty for years before the JD Wetherspoon team come along and save them from destruction, restoring them to preserve their architectural glory and celebrate the history of the buildings.
https://www.greeneking.co.uk/We have worked with many old properties, refurbishing and renovating to sympathetically blend the old with the new. This included The Woburn, an 18th Century property where we recreated The Oakman Group’s signature open plan style within the Grade II listed building and we also brought life and modernity to an old period building that boasted an eclectic history, from being a tonsil hospital to the bolt hole for Sir Winston Churchill – Paris House.
