The Duke of Westminster will be able to retrofit more than a thousand of his properties with energy upgrades as the government changes restrictions on modernising listed buildings.
As part of changes to the national policy planning framework, listed building owners will find it easier to get permission for energy efficiency or low-carbon improvements from local authorities. These improvements will be considered “important public benefits”.
England has 350,000 listed buildings and Hugh Grosvenor owns more than 1,500 of them across London and three rural estates.
The Duke of Westminster previously called restrictions on modernising the listed properties “completely mad” as he’s campaigned for leniency with the restrictions on upgrading the buildings.
Grosvenor, the duke’s property company, published a report earlier this year called Retrofit or Ruin where he claimed the listed buildings could become “uninhabitable, unaffordable and ultimately redundant” unless the planning system is simplified.
The new regulation reads: “Important public benefits can include securing the long-term reuse of a vacant or underused listed building, and enabling energy efficiency and low carbon heating measures to be employed.”
The changes are set to affect England only, as the planning policy is devolved in Scotland and Wales.
Tor Burrows, chief sustainability officer at Grosvenor, praised the changes in regulation and stressed the importance of climate adaption.
“As we have seen this summer, climate change is already affecting homes across the country, while energy bills are set to rise again this autumn,” they said.
“It is fantastic that the Government has recognised that climate adaption is essential for heritage buildings and is looking to streamline retrofit initiatives like at Eaton Square, which can provide approval for low-risk energy efficiency improvements upfront across whole streets and neighbourhoods.”
An internal briefing document from Grosvenor, as reported by The Times, says recognising the benefits of “making existing buildings more resilient to anticipated climate impacts.”
“The policy goes beyond energy efficiency. It separately recognises the benefits of making existing buildings more resilient to anticipated climate impacts. That is particularly relevant to measures such as awnings and other responses to overheating, flooding and extreme weather.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told The Times: “We continue to explore options for listed building consent orders and have engaged with the Grosvenor Estate on this. We support councils to explore the benefits of using them locally to make retrofitting happen quicker so we can boost energy efficiency.”
