“Retrofit: from start to finish” and “Planning consent (what needs it, what doesn’t)”

This free event is the second of four and will cover the topics: “Retrofit: from start to finish” and “Planning consent (what needs it, what doesn’t)”. We have several guest experts who will share their wealth of knowledge on these subjects.  

Ecofurb is a home renovation service based in South London that helps homeowners plan energy efficiency improvements. Their impartial advice takes into account your budget and the features of your home. They can also recommend local installers.

Ian Preston is an Ecofurb Coordinator. He’ll be talking us through the challenges the UK faces in retrofitting our buildings, the stages of a retrofit and who the various people are that get involved, what the term “whole house” means and what, if any, grants are available.

It’s all very well wanting to install solar panels on the roof, or swap out your wooden sash windows for new triple-glazing but what about the different consents required to do these things? What if your building is in a conservation area or, heaven forbid, listed? There’s not only the national planning laws to wade through but also local council planning department consent and possibly the Dulwich Estate!

Led by Herne Hill’s own Planning Consultant, Alan Piper, we will start with an introduction to these various types of consent in relation to energy-saving measures. We will then have a round-table discussion based on questions sent in by you – what do you want to know? Try not to ask specific questions about your personal circumstances but keep it broad so we can all benefit from the answer. Send your questions to: info@hernehillforum.org.uk. We hope to have representatives from the local councils’ planning departments as well as the Dulwich Estate to answer your queries.