North Yorkshire Council
Environment Executive Members
28 November 2025
North Yorkshire Council’s consultation response to York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority’s draft Retrofit Strategy.
Report of the Assistant Director - Environment and Transport
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 This report will outline NYC’s response to the draft retrofit strategy consultation and to invite Environment Executive Members’ comments.
1.2 To delegate the submission of North Yorkshire Council’s consultation response to the Assistant Director – Environment and Transport
2.0 SUMMARY
2.1 York and North Yorkshire’s draft Retrofit Strategy (the draft Retrofit Strategy) is a co-created regional strategy produced by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority (YNYCA), with input from stakeholders across the region, including North Yorkshire Council (NYC) officers and members. The ambition to develop this approach is included in the NYC Climate Change Strategy adopted in 2023 as a key delivery mechanism for decarbonising the built environment.
2.2 The draft strategy outlines the vision that ‘York and North Yorkshire’s Buildings are fit for now and for the future for all’. It was developed using data and evidence and a series of workshops with stakeholders to co-create the strategy. To guide the development of the Strategy a Task and Finish Group was established in February 2025.
2.3 The draft Retrofit Strategy has a consultation window for eight weeks, and it was launched 09 October 2025 and will close at 11:59 on 03 December 2025. This report presents an overview of the draft Retrofit Strategy and Appendix A includes the draft for public consultation. Appendix B includes NYC officer responses to stakeholder questions posed by the YNYCA.
2.4 The draft Retrofit Strategy aims to support the retrofit of all types of buildings, including housing, historical buildings and business premises and the skills and supply chain that can support the vision. Officers from climate change, housing, economic development, and property have provided comments on the draft Retrofit Strategy. The strategy’s ambition to scale up retrofit delivery and to secure additional funding is strongly welcomed. NYC are fully committed to retrofit and have invested time and resources into developing experienced, resident focused teams, who are well placed to deliver retrofit at pace, particularly for vulnerable households where trust, local knowledge, and tailored support are essential. Sustainability and Carbon Reduction is a principle of the Corporate Property Strategy and informs how the council will manage the corporate property estate, aligning with the draft Retrofit Strategy aims. It is noted in the consultation feedback that it is important that the strategy does not inadvertently slow progress by funnelling existing funding through new centralised structures.
3.0 BACKGROUND
3.1 Retrofit describes the process of making changes to buildings so that they use less energy and the associated greenhouse gas emissions are reduced. It also includes replacing fossil fuel energy use with renewable energy generation. Retrofitting buildings across the region is also important for adapting to a changing climate. Retrofitting usually includes energy efficiency measures like installing insulation, renewable energy and low carbon heating such as heat pumps.
3.2 Retrofitting buildings supports regional and national net zero ambitions, and climate resilience. Retrofitting is also an investment in healthier communities. The benefits of retrofitting for residents and businesses include reduced energy bills and improved air quality.
3.3 Retrofit is an opportunity to improve the condition and resilience of buildings to ensure that every person in York and North Yorkshire is comfortable and can afford to heat and cool their building. This is crucial – as of 2022, there were approximately 60,000 households in fuel poverty in York and North Yorkshire. 28% of York and North Yorkshire’s buildings were built before 1930, and the area has many conservation areas and listed buildings. Retrofitting buildings appropriately can ensure that they are able to be used well into the future, and our heritage assets are preserved. Increasing the regional capacity to retrofit provides economic benefits by supporting local jobs and supply chains.
3.4 The region is in a strong position to lead the way for retrofitting buildings, which could lead to further funding and opportunities. This is due to our extensive heritage buildings, opportunities for biobased materials, unique building stock and supporting the carbon negative ambition. Retrofit is also a priority for Central Government, and Combined Authorities are being given more local powers and devolved funding to deliver retrofit. The Retrofit Strategy aims to demonstrate and cement York and North Yorkshire’s strong position.
4.0 THE RETROFIT STRATEGY
4.1 The development process for the Retrofit Strategy included an area assessment and a co-design phase. The area assessment aimed to build an evidence base to inform the direction of the Retrofit Strategy. This included a review of national and local policy, data, strategy and research, research into retrofit skills, and the Carbon Abatement Pathways (CAP) Study refresh which examined regional emissions.
4.2 YNYCA then held a number of workshops to co-create a vision for retrofit, inform the direction of the Strategy and create ideas for implementation. To guide the development of the Strategy a Task and Finish Group was established in 2025. Members included North Yorkshire Council, City of York Council, Historic England, the Federation of Master Builders, Northern PowerGrid and the York and North Yorkshire Housing Partnership.
4.3 The draft Retrofit Strategy has a vision, three outcomes and six strategic priorities. The vision, that ‘York and North Yorkshire’s Buildings are Fit for Now and for the Future for All is the long-term goal for retrofit in York and North Yorkshire. The vision highlights key themes from the co-design including that retrofit must be bespoke to the region (York and North Yorkshire), every person should feel the benefits of retrofit (for all), that the Strategy should cover domestic and non-domestic buildings (buildings), and climate change mitigation and adaptation (now and for the future). The outcomes are the ‘why’ of the Retrofit Strategy, which outline what impact we need to have. All activity under the Retrofit Strategy will aim to meet at least one of these outcomes, but ideally will meet all three. These are:
· Comfort – Buildings are comfortable to be in all year round, in cold weather and hot weather. This comfort level should not be blocked by high energy bills or inefficient buildings and should have positive impacts such as decreased health impacts from damp and mould.
· Climate – Climate change is mitigated against by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and we adapt to our changing climate by improving the resilience of our buildings.
· Cost – Energy bills are reduced and there are savings to wider infrastructure, such as the health system, as a result of improved comfort. The economic benefits of retrofit are felt by local businesses in the retrofit supply chain.
4.4 The Strategic Priorities outline what needs to happen to deliver on the retrofit vision. The priorities are:
· Demand - Grow York and North Yorkshire’s market demand for retrofit at a pace and scale aligned to regional and national retrofitting and net zero targets.
· Skills and Supply Chain - Support the supply chain for retrofit to cope with growing demand and gain economic advantage.
· Finance Innovation - Reduce finance as a barrier to retrofit, to ensure it does not hold back the rate of change.
· Data and Research - Ensure a data and research driven approach to retrofit.
· Stakeholder Collaboration – Unite Y&NY organisations in their approach to retrofit and coordinate strategic delivery.
· Programmes & Demonstrators - Demonstrate best practice and deliver programmes that meet the pace and scale of retrofit required.
4.5 Each of these strategic priorities is intricately linked to the others, highlighting the complexity of the retrofit system. Investing heavily in one strategic priority and not the others will not tackle the fundamental barriers to retrofit. For example, increasing demand from the public without strengthening the supply chain will result in a backlog of work and a struggling supply chain, and will not result in more retrofit taking place.
4.6 The strategic priorities each have an action plan which outlines how they will be achieved included in the draft Retrofit Strategy.
5.0 THE CONSULTATION RESPONSE
5.1 The consultation has engaged widely across the organisation. Detailed feedback has been received and collated from Housing, Property, Climate Change and Place Shaping and Growth, included in Appendix B
5.2 Response to the consultation has highlighted that the ambition to scale up retrofit delivery and to secure additional funding is strongly welcomed. However, officers have noted that it is important that the strategy does not inadvertently slow progress by funnelling existing funding through new centralised structures.
5.3 The draft Retrofit Strategy outlies an ambition to deliver 67,000 domestic solar installations in four years. This is commendable but without new and dedicated funding, it is unlikely to be achievable. Simply redistributing existing resources will not be sufficient to meet the scale of the challenge. It is suggested that the strategy should focus on unlocking genuinely new funding and finance options, while enabling local delivery partners to continue building on the strong foundations already in place.
5.4 Part of the feedback collated from officers has suggested that the strategy includes a clearer financial roadmap and contingency planning. It is suggested that the draft Retrofit Strategy should seek to protect and empower existing local delivery models, especially those focused on residential property. The draft Retrofit Strategy highlights that retrofit should be ‘bespoke to the region’ and this is welcomed by officers. Ensuring flexibility in funding, reporting and delivery models is significantly important in supporting this aim, to reflect the diversity of housing types and community needs across the region.
5.5 NYC officers strongly recommend that the Retrofit Strategy includes a commitment to lobby central government for dedicated funding schemes to support the retrofit of hard-to-treat homes. This is a key challenge in NYC area due to older housing stock and the rural geography, which is challenging for delivery at scale due to dispersed housing and lack of grid capacity in some areas. Without this additional support, there is a real risk that these properties will be left behind, undermining both the equity and effectiveness of the region’s decarbonisation efforts. A tailored approach is essential to ensure that all residents—regardless of the type of home they live in—can benefit from warmer, healthier, and more energy-efficient housing. Similarly, a tailored approach can support local businesses and build capacity of the harder to treat property trade skills.
5.6 Overall, officers across NYC have been involved in the development of the draft Retrofit Strategy and are supportive of the vision and the consideration of climate change adaptation. However, it is important that the final strategy explicitly recognises NYC’s role as a key delivery partner. Given the rurality, housing diversity, and operational challenges across NYC’s geography, the strategy must commit to locally tailored delivery models and funding formulas that reflect need not just population.
6.0 CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES
6.1 The draft Retrofit Strategy contributes directly to achieving NYC’s Climate Change Strategy, where retrofit is identified as a priority under the mitigation theme (7ai).
6.2 The draft Retrofit Strategy supports the work the housing service are delivering. This includes the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, which will retrofit 1664 homes over the next three years. The housing service are also delivering the Warm Homes: Local Grant, which will retrofit 246 privately owned homes.
6.3 The draft Retrofit Strategy delivers the following specific Council Plan ambitions:
a. Place and Environment:
· A clean, environmentally sustainable and attractive place to live, work and visit
· Communities are supported and work together to improve their local area
· Good quality, affordable and sustainable housing that meets the needs of our communities.
b. Economy
· Economically sustainable growth that enables people and places to prosper
· Culture, heritage, arts and sustainable tourism all play their part in the economic growth of the county.
c. Health and Wellbeing
· People are supported to have a good quality of life and enjoy active and healthy lifestyles.
· Reduced variations in health through tackling the root causes of inequality
d. People
· In times of hardship, support is provided to those that need it most
e. Organisation
· A carbon neutral council
7.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED
7.1 The alternative option would be not to submit a consultation response to the YNYCA. Participation in the consultation provides an opportunity to ensure that North Yorkshire Council can contribute to shaping future devolution of retrofit delivery.
8.0 IMPACT ON OTHER SERVICES/ORGANISATIONS
8.1 There are no direct implications on other services or organisations as a result of providing consultation responses on the draft Retrofit Strategy.
9.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
9.1 There are no financial implications associated directly with responding to the consultation apart from officer time which is met from existing budgets. There will be financial implications associated with the delivery of the strategic priorities within the retrofit strategy but projects will be subject to separate reports, as appropriate, to ensure funding is in place.
10.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
10.1 There are no legal implications associated with responding to the consultation. Legal implications will be considered in full in the future following the outcome of the consultation.
11.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
11.1 An equalities impact assessment has been attached at Appendix C. It is noted that the draft Retrofit Strategy aims to alleviate fuel poverty in the region by improving the condition and resilience of buildings.
12.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS
12.1 The draft Retrofit Strategy supports the regional ambition to be carbon negative by 2040. Retrofitting homes reduces carbon emitted from homes and supports the switch to renewable energy and preparedness for a changing climate. A climate change impact assessment is attached at Appendix D.
13.0 CONCLUSIONS
13.1 Overall, officers across NYC have been involved in the development of the draft Retrofit Strategy. It is important that the final strategy explicitly recognises NYC’s role as a key delivery partner. Given the rurality, housing diversity, and operational challenges across NYC’s geography, the strategy must commit to locally tailored delivery models and funding formulas that reflect need not just population.
13.2 The draft Retrofit Strategy is welcomed by NYC, but it is important that any devolved approach to retrofit does not add additional layers of governance and slow progress. The draft retrofit strategy should aim to unlock new sources of funding and finance options, while enabling local delivery partners to continue building on the strong foundations in place.
14.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
14.1 The reason for the recommendation will ensure that NYC’s feedback is considered for the final version of the Retrofit Strategy.
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15.0 |
RECOMMENDATIONS
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15.1
15.2 |
That Executive Member for Managing the Environment in consultation with the Corporate Director of Environment and the Executive Member for Culture, Arts and Housing review and provide comments to the draft Retrofit Strategy consultation response, included in Appendix B.
It is recommended that the Executive Member for Managing the Environment delegates the submission of the response to the Assistant Director – Environmental Services, Climate Change and Integrated Passenger Transport in consultation with the Environment Executive.
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APPENDICES:
Appendix A – York and North Yorkshire’s draft Retrofit Strategy
Appendix B – Retrofit Strategy Consultation – Stakeholder Survey copy
Appendix C – Equalities Impact Assessment
Appendix D – Climate Change Impact Assessment
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:
Climate Change Strategy 2023 to 2030: https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/environment-and-neighbourhoods/climate-change/climate-change-strategy-2023-2030
Michael Leah
Assistant Director - Environment and Transport
County Hall
Northallerton
28 November 2025
Report Author – Hannah Nutsey Climate Change Business Partner