Richmond Home Retrofit Planning Guide Consultation

Overview

What this consultation is about

The Council is seeking views on the draft Richmond Home Retrofit Planning Guide.

The Guide has been prepared to provide clear and practical planning guidance for people who want to improve the energy efficiency and environmental performance of their homes. This consultation gives residents, businesses, voluntary organisations, community groups and statutory consultees an opportunity to comment before the Guide is finalised.

We want to make sure the final Guide is as useful and usable as possible.

Background

As part of its commitments to tackling the climate emergency, the Council has prepared guidance to help people understand how to approach and plan home retrofit projects.

The draft Guide focuses particularly on four common types of retrofit work:

• Insulation
• Windows
• Heat pumps
• Solar panels

It includes practical advice, flow charts and visual examples intended to help users understand the available improvements and relevant planning considerations, including in relation to homes in historic settings such as conservation areas.

The consultation is closely connected to the Richmond Smarter Homes Hub, which provides information and resources to help Richmond residents make their homes warmer, more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable.

Visit the Richmond Smarter Homes Hub Commonplace site to explore the wider range of resources.

About the draft Guide

The draft Guide provides advice on:

• How to approach a home retrofit project, including principles and approaches that can help maximise its success.
   
• How to design and plan for home retrofit projects, including: 
  • The different types of retrofit improvements available.
  • When retrofit improvements require permission from the Council.
  • Best-practice design principles intended to ensure retrofit improvements are effective and meet planning requirements.
  • Specific guidance for retrofitting homes that are listed or in conservation areas.
• Navigating the planning process efficiently where planning permission or listed building consent is required.

This Guide is non-statutory planning guidance. The Council intends to treat the Guide as a material consideration to assist in the planning process.

Read the draft Richmond Home Retrofit Planning Guide by clicking here.

Why we are consulting

Before the Guide is finalised, we would like to understand whether:

• You consider any of the information in the Guide to be unclear or inaccurate.
• There are ways in which the Guide could be made more useful or useable.
• The Guide could be structured or presented more effectively.
• There is any additional information you think should be added to the Guide.

Your feedback will help the Council decide whether changes should be made before the Guide is published.

How to get involved 

We want to get your opinions on the draft guide. Please follow the 'Online Survey' link below and read the instructions before completing the survey. 

Alternatively, give us your feedback either by email or letter:  

• By email to LocalPlan@richmond.gov.uk 

• By post to Spatial Planning and Design, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Civic Centre, 44 York Street, Twickenham, TW1 3BZ 

If your feedback relates to a specific part of the document, please make sure it is clear which part, along with any changes you feel should be made.

What happens next

After the consultation has finished, the Council will consider any feedback received and whether changes should be made to the Guide before it is published. The Council also intends to create a web version of the Guide in due course which will help ensure it is as accessible and navigable as possible.

This page will be updated following the consultation, including when the final version of the Guide is available.