Richmond Sustainability Forum puts home retrofit in the spotlight

This week we hosted the 7th Richmond Sustainability Forum at Duke Street Church in Richmond, with a theme of Retrofitting your home. 

It was good to be there with more than 100 residents, some of whom join us regularly, as well as others coming to the Forum for the first time, all intrigued to hear about making homes healthier, more energy efficient and cheaper to run.

Duke Street Church itself has been refurbished recently with upgrades to lighting, heating and ventilation, making it more comfortable as well as energy efficient. So, it was a fitting location to launch the Council's new Smarter Homes Hub and the Smarter Homes Handbook, which offer clear guidance on home energy efficiency improvements. The Hub and Handbook are relevant for a range of housing types, with information on planning and permitted development rights, insulation, ventilation, heat pumps, solar panels and batteries. 

We live in a borough where both the environment and our sense of community are valued. Global uncertainty, and pressures on energy supply and finances, reinforce our sense of purpose in maximising energy efficiency locally. In this context, Richmond retains its ambition to be a net zero borough by 2043, and with our buildings the source of the largest share of carbon emissions, there is huge opportunity to meet challenges collectively. 

This was an inspiring and informative evening. Clare O'Connor outlined the Council's decarbonisation programme to reduce emissions from Council buildings and ensure they operate more cost-effectively, and Cllr Richard Warren updated us on his working group’s input into the Smarter Homes Hub and Handbook. 

Local resident Juliet Nolan gave an inspiring account, in conversation with senior communications officer Catherine Bright, of how she overcame other people's doubts and successfully added external wall insulation, a heat pump, solar panels and a battery to her family home, making it cosier and cheaper to run. 

Senior council officers Adam Hutchings and Daniel Goodman clarified the role of Planning, emphasising the importance of pragmatic decision-making and the free pre-application advice that’s available to people proposing energy efficiency improvements on their properties.

A compelling panel discussion highlighted the complexity and variety of projects underway in the borough, and the support that is on offer for initiatives yet to take shape. Julian Chun outlined Richmond Housing Partnership’s retrofit of social housing in Barnes. Claire Harrold from Repowering London described how communities can be empowered to switch to clean energy. Toby Costin from CREW Energy explained a range of basic yet effective solutions to achieve greater comfort and energy efficiency in homes. Russell Smith from Ecofurb reminded us about the importance of planning for home retrofits, and Seb Hughes from Make My House Green explained his organisation’s role in partnering with Richmond Council to encourage wider uptake of solar panels and batteries in the borough.

Representatives from Shade the UK and Thinking Works were also on hand, highlighting their services to help keep homes warm in winter and cool in summer. We often speak of the need to keep our homes efficiently warm; equitable access to shade in scorching summers will be just as important.  

In conclusion, I’m very grateful to everyone who contributed to such a lively and purposeful evening, including Richmond’s Climate Change & Sustainability team – and particularly partnerships and engagement lead Georgina Creighton - who brought us all together to mark this key milestone. There is still a long way to go. But increasingly, with knowledgeable, productive partners working together towards the same goals, there is every reason to be hopeful as we prepare ourselves for the next steps on our journey towards genuine sustainability, for Richmond and beyond.

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