Industry leaders gathered at ARU Peterborough in April for Retrofit Reality Check, a discussion examining whether the UK’s current retrofit frameworks are enabling quality delivery – or adding further complexity to an already pressured sector. With the retrofit agenda accelerating, funding models shifting and the Warm Homes Plan reshaping expectations, speakers explored the gap between policy ambition and on‑the‑ground delivery. The event brought together policymakers, designers, contractors, coordinators and sustainability professionals for an open and practical conversation.

CIOB’s Amanda Williams opened the session, followed by Professor John Edwards on non‑domestic retrofit challenges under PAS 2038. Ben How, head of retrofit and sustainability at Frankham Group, explored PAS 2030:2023 compliance in practice, while Nick Miles, director of commerce and product Innovation at EWI Pro, outlined policy and funding pressures via the APPG for Future Homes, Skills and Innovation. Steve Bertasso, associate professor at NMITE, closed by addressing the growing skills gap, adoption challenges, rising costs impacting deep retrofit delivery and sustainability-orientated solutions.

The second part of the session saw the speakers joined by Guy Price, managing director at Retrofit Design Services, Alice Monty, sustainability director with Equans, and Samuel Longkat Bentu, technical lead at Greenstorm for a lively panel discussion. This reinforced a central theme: while standards and policy continue to evolve, delivery remains complex, under-resourced and skills‑constrained.

The event succeeded in moving beyond theory, offering a space for honest debate and highlighting the urgent need for clearer alignment between policy, funding and capability.