How national government can back place-based retrofit to deliver home upgrades at scale.
This is the next resource from our Place-Based Retrofit project – in partnership with the UK Green Building Council and the Energy Demand Research Centre, and supported by the MCS Foundation. The resource explores the support required from national government to enable place-based approaches to deliver home upgrades at scale. It also sets out recommendations for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
A £15 billion shift to place-based delivery
In 2026, government committed £15 billion through the Warm Homes Plan – the most significant investment to date in upgrading the UK’s homes. The Plan marks an important shift towards place-based delivery, with local and combined authorities expected to play a central coordinating role alongside wider local delivery partners.
This shift is significant: previous national retrofit programmes have often struggled to achieve consistent uptake, with underspends and uneven delivery outcomes that have, at times, affected public confidence. While ambition at national level is clear, the practical conditions needed to deliver at scale locally are still not fully in place.
Local partners aren’t yet equipped to deliver
Evidence from our project shows that many place-based organisations are currently operating without the enabling infrastructure required to deliver effectively. In a workshop with local authorities, community organisations and SMEs, 73% of respondents said they do not yet feel equipped to deliver a comprehensive place-based approach. Our research also highlights the importance of involving local and combined authorities, alongside other delivery partners, in the detailed design of the Warm Homes Plan to ensure programmes are practical, responsive to local needs and capable of achieving their intended impact.
This briefing responds directly to that challenge. It sets out recommendations for DESNZ and MHCLG focused on strengthening the foundations of delivery, through better funding design, stronger local partnerships, clearer governance, and increased local capacity, so that the Warm Homes Plan can translate national ambition into place-based impact on the ground.
Recommendations for DESNZ and MHCLG:
- DESNZ should co-design funding and finance programmes with local delivery partners of the Warm Homes Plan.
- DESNZ and MHCLG should support and resource partnerships between the full range of local delivery partners, including local authorities, SMEs, and community organisations.
- DESNZ should design the Warm Homes Agency to provide consistent national messaging while actively supporting and platforming local advice and support services.
- DESNZ and MHCLG should continue to support place-based land and housing stewardship by enabling public and cooperative acquisition of housing
- DESNZ and MHCLG should build institutional capacity within local authorities to develop procurement practice which supports Community Wealth Building (CWB) and bring labour in-house where appropriate.
