Summary

Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership (HCCSP) partnered with the MCS Foundation through the Local Area Retrofit Accelerator (LARA) pilot to co-design the county’s first Retrofit Strategy. Over 130 stakeholders from councils, housing associations, businesses, and community groups shaped a shared vision, action plan, and governance model grounded in local data and resident insight. This collaborative, evidence-led process has established strong, countywide ownership and a long-term, systems-based pathway to tackling emissions, fuel poverty, and skills gaps.

"Hertfordshire’s Retrofit Strategy shows what is possible when we bring every part of the system together with a shared purpose. By co‑designing this work with more than 130 partners, we have built a strategy that truly reflects the needs of our residents, our places, and our local economy. This collaborative approach is already unlocking new opportunities, strengthening our supply chain, and laying the foundations for a fair, countywide transition to net zero. I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved together, grateful for the support and trust provided by MCS Foundation and excited for what comes next.” - Cllr Ian Stotesbury, Chair of Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership.

The problem

Hertfordshire has halved emissions since 2006 but remains off-track to meet its 2050 net-zero commitments. The county’s emissions are significantly higher than regional and national averages, with residential buildings accounting for more than a third of Hertfordshire’s emissions at over 1,400 ktCO₂e annually.

More than half of 500,000+ dwellings in Hertfordshire need energy efficiency improvements. Retrofit also presents a critical opportunity to reduce fuel poverty, which affects 8.2% of Hertfordshire households, with pockets of disparity linked to health and social inequalities.

Despite increasing recognition of the need for large-scale retrofit, delivery remains fragmented. Residents struggle to navigate retrofit routes, national funding programmes launch without sufficient supply-chain capacity, and contractors face inconsistent confidence in demand. Previous schemes, including ECO-based programmes, have been short-term or lacked the local coordination needed for long-term impact.

Hertfordshire’s political landscape adds complexity, with varied political control across eleven authorities. However, the formation of HCCSP in 2020 created a consistent countywide forum for collaboration, creating space for all Hertfordshire based councils to collaborate, at both elected member and officer levels. For the success of the LARA project, it was crucial all local authorities were engaged and in support.

The pilot built on earlier HCCSP groundwork including a resident retrofit survey inspired by Hampshire County Council which garnered over 2,000+ responses for just two days of officer time. A Times-endorsed, HCCSP-written Building Retrofit Guide (emulating UK100 member Cambridge City Council’s work) was downloaded over 1,000 times in its first month. These two pieces of work positioned Hertfordshire as ready for a more ambitious, systemic approach.

‍Research by Hertfordshire Futures confirmed the financial opportunity offered by retrofit, and local colleges had upskilled their staff and facilities to train for the demand. However, course take-up was limited and retrofit schemes were struggling to recruit sufficient approved contractors. Communication efforts to residents, landlords and the supply chain further lacked the local support needed to turn awareness into action, whilst procurement practices missed opportunities for local jobs and businesses.

HCCSP and the MCS Foundation sought to break these patterns by accelerating stakeholder ownership, creating shared purpose and confidence, and designing a strategy that addressed retrofit as an interconnected system rather than a series of isolated technical interventions.

The solution

Hertfordshire was selected as the first of four Local Area Retrofit Accelerator pilots, thanks to its strong preparedness and commitment to collaboration. The county has 1.2 million residents, predominantly urban, with 89% of the population living in a third of the county’s land mass. Its diverse mix of settlements, a highly educated and skilled workforce, and significant commuter population make a countywide approach both necessary and achievable: with no single ‘city centre’, and individual authorities bidding separately for government funding, a piecemeal approach would be unlikely to reach the scale and penetration to fully convert homeowners to action or trades to capitalise on the opportunities in the area. We needed an approach to retrofit applied beyond and across district and borough borders. HCCSP had identified retrofit as a key pillar in mitigating area-wide emissions through its Carbon Reduction Strategic Action Plan, and improving the built environment featured throughout the strategies and climate plans of all eleven partner bodies of HCCSP (Hertfordshire County Council, and the 10 district and borough councils within the county).

The solution centred on a structured, facilitated co-design process to develop Hertfordshire’s first Retrofit Strategy. Rather than local authorities developing a strategy and then sharing to external stakeholders for feedback, the MCS Foundation facilitated a ‘co-design’ process, inviting local stakeholder organisations across the public, private, and voluntary sectors critical to retrofit delivery to craft an approach together.

The co-design model was chosen over consultancy-led or an entirely internally drafted strategy to ensure local ownership and long-term engagement. Alternative approaches were discounted due to the cost of private expertise and the lack of authoritative endorsement of an ‘in house’ model. Ultimately, however, the in-kind expertise support of MCS Foundation encouraged HCCSP’s participation as the development of a strategy was the next necessary step in the county’s retrofit journey.

Early in-depth interviews helped map existing activity, gaps, and opportunities. More than 130 stakeholders participated in three co-design workshops. The stakeholders included all training colleges in the county, local authorities (planners, housing, environmental health, public health and sustainability officers), social housing providers, community groups and trades ranging from national major construction firms to smaller local retrofit companies. These stakeholders were contacted through a range of longstanding relationships with Hertfordshire Futures (the economic development arm of the County Council), through officer networks and cold-calling where appropriate and necessary. The funding application required c-suite letters of endorsement from a broad stakeholder base, which helped us then follow up with invitations to support delivery when the project began. Despite the time commitment of three full days, we did not remunerate for stakeholder time, though we did provide refreshments and offer to cover transport if required. No one submitted expenses claims. These sessions explored retrofit as a system, the benefits of coordinated action, and the potential roles each organisation could play. Participants developed a shared vision, mission, SWOT analysis, and collaborative priorities. Scenario-based examples helped build new cross-sector relationships that now underpin countywide activity.

Following the workshops, HCCSP and the MCS Foundation drafted the strategy, refining it through two iterative review stages. Over 30 organisations endorsed the final document, with a countywide Commitment to Retrofit creating early political, organisational, and sectoral buy-in.

The Strategy was launched in July 2025, at an event attended by over 70 stakeholders. The Hertfordshire Growth Board committed £50,000 to maintain momentum and to move to delivery of the action plan. HCCSP is now moving to support this delivery, reassured that different stakeholders in the system have the confidence and momentum to progress on their own journeys, collectively.

This collaborative, systems-based method aligned with Hertfordshire’s climate, housing, and economic strategies and supports national priorities to scale retrofit, address fuel poverty, and strengthen supply-chain capacity. The co-design process ensured that the strategy would be realistic, locally grounded, and supported by a strong foundation of relationships to carry implementation forward.

Timeline

Autumn 2023 – Early Ideation
Resident survey and internal project assessment by HCCSP to clarify the scale of the challenge. HCCSP applied for the LARA project, securing 29 letters of support from councils, housing providers, training organisations, and retrofit bodies.

January – March 2024 – Project Setup & Stakeholder Assessment
Hertfordshire was confirmed as the first pilot area. The MCS Foundation carried out stakeholder mapping and interviews, while HCCSP built political and officer engagement across all authorities. HCCSP is a partnership body that predates the project so the buy-in was present from the start, built into our DNA. The relationships we have developed with officers and members across a range of portfolios and services means that we are the trusted voice on sustainability action. Having identified domestic retrofit as a key pillar of our Carbon Action Plan, the funding mobilised latent engagement and action to progress decisive action.

October 2024 – January 2025 – Co-Design Workshops
Three workshops brought together 130+ stakeholders to develop a shared purpose, vision, mission, SWOT analysis, and priority areas.

January 2025 – May 2025 – Drafting and Review
HCCSP and MCS Foundation drafted the strategy, followed by two feedback rounds. 23 organisations signed the Commitment to Retrofit during this period.

July 2025 – Strategy Launch
Over 70 stakeholders attended the launch event. Hertfordshire Growth Board allocated £50,000 to support ongoing momentum beyond the pilot.

‍Autumn 2025 – Present – Implementation PhaseA Retrofit Steering Group was established with system-wide stakeholders, and an officer working group to take forward local authority projects. Funding was confirmed from local authorities and MCS Foundation for a retrofit system coordinator post. Allocation of actions from the Strategy and Action Plan have seen alignment for the Warm Homes Local Grant, consideration of a Retrofit One Stop Shop (ROSS) and greater collaboration between colleges, landlords and housing associations for funding, projects and approaches.

Stakeholders

HCCSP partnered with the MCS Foundation to convene and deliver the LARA pilot. The project brought together more than 130 stakeholders, including district and borough councils, Hertfordshire County Council, Hertfordshire Futures, housing associations, local colleges and training providers, community energy groups, not-for-profits, SMEs, and national retrofit organisations.

Early scepticism from stakeholders unsure about the value of co-design was overcome through transparent and regular communication, evidence-led facilitation, and clear demonstration of shared benefits. The partnerships formed during the project are continuing through delivery via a newly established Retrofit Steering Group. The Steering Group met in January 2026, with agreed Terms of Reference. The mix of attendees from local authorities, training colleges, housing associations and SMEs demonstrate the wide breadth of the LARA project in ensuring continued collaboration across the retrofit supply chain in Hertfordshire.

HCCSP engaged Cambridge City Council early in the project to learn from their retrofit work; a representative attended the first LARA workshop and provided valuable insight into how to progress a strategy and get stakeholder buy-in. Throughout the pilot period, HCCSP has held regular meetings with the other LARA pilot areas to share lessons learnt and project and delivery advice.

Impact

The Hertfordshire LARA pilot delivered significant outcomes within six months. Stakeholders co-developed a shared purpose, a governance model, and the county’s first Local Retrofit Strategy, now endorsed by more than 30 organisations in just 30 weeks.      

Stronger cross-sector relationships have been one of the most significant impacts, with many organisations collaborating for the first time. These relationships have supported ongoing coordination between councils, colleges, housing providers, SMEs, and community groups, enabling joint funding bids, shared initiatives, and sector-wide alignment.

Delivery of the Strategy also catalyses local green skills development. By working closely with training providers and further-education colleges, the programme is helping to increase the number of residents trained in retrofit-related trades, supporting job creation, strengthening local supply-chain capacity, and ensuring Hertfordshire is well placed to meet rising demand for retrofit services. This will be particularly relevant as the impacts of the newly published Warm Homes Plan begin to take effect.

Hertfordshire set a precedent for the other three LARA pilots (Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire, Liverpool City Region, and Surrey), sharing advice and lessons learned to support the development of tailored Retrofit Strategies across all four areas. Relationships formed during scenario exercises and workshops continue to influence collaborative activity across the county.

A critical subgoal of the Strategy was to address the complex and often confusing retrofit landscape for residents in Hertfordshire. Many LARA stakeholders assumed that the result of the workshops would be to create some form of Retrofit One Stop Shop, providing households with a single trusted route for advice, funding, and retrofit support. This may be one of the outputs, but a far greater and more intangible success was the understanding between different stakeholders that no one entity will hold the unilateral power to impact and improve the retrofit system. When all stakeholders recognised the value in co-creation, cross-system confidence and sharing learning, the impacts became guaranteed to be locked into the county architecture going forward.

MCS Foundation have now committed £500,000 over three years to Hertfordshire to deliver the actions in the Strategy. Mindful of the changing context created by the publication of the Warm Homes Plan, HCCSP is considering agile and cost-effective responses to support countywide interventions to remain flexible as details on policy and national programmes evolve. Relationships, networks and stakeholder engagement will ensure a coordinated approach going forward, representing a model of national significance.

Lessons Learned

Broader and more consistent representation from across the local retrofit system would have strengthened the co-design process. While over 130 stakeholders were engaged, not all attended every workshop. The commitment of three full days of time is admittedly onerous. Being clearer from the outset about expectations, outputs, and time commitments may have helped sustain involvement. The Steering Group is now re-engaging organisations in the delivery phase.

Time limitations meant a full action plan could not be developed during the pilot. A fourth workshop may have supported this, though sustaining engagement might have been challenging. Template-based tools may also have helped accelerate early strategy development.

From the outset, HCCSP and MCS Foundation recognised that retrofit cannot be addressed piecemeal. The Hertfordshire LARA partnership was therefore designed to bring together every part of the retrofit ecosystem, ensuring that environmental, social, and economic factors were considered concurrently.

The methodology successfully captured diverse perspectives across the full retrofit system from skills and procurement to finance, conservation, and health. Decisions reflected the complete system, although community engagement from residents and ethnic minorities was lacking due to time commitments and specialist contacts. The project was intentionally held at a system-level, and although we were aware of the lack of diversity in resident engagement, it was acknowledged that both the scope of the challenge (system-wide and county-wide was unlikely to be relevant to hyper-local community groups) and the format of the workshops (three full day-time days are unlikely to be feasible for often volunteer-led contacts) made this inevitable. Using a healthy-homes lens and considering all types of tenure and affordability through the process means that the action plan will be relevant to all communities. When delivering stated actions on a more local level, the Retrofit Steering Group will expect projects to comprehensively appeal to and engage with the breadth of the county’s population.

The strategy also explicitly addressed ‘co-benefits’ including fuel poverty, air quality, low carbon jobs, and residents’ comfort and wellbeing. The result is a joined-up plan that aligns retrofit delivery with Hertfordshire’s climate, housing, and economic strategies ensuring impact at both system and household level.

Finances

The Hertfordshire LARA pilot builds on more than three years of development by the MCS Foundation and the UK Green Building Council. The pilot was primarily funded by a £250,000 investment from the MCS Foundation, supplemented by £106,000 from the Greater South East Net Zero Hub and £40,000 from the Aurora Trust Foundation. A core team – consisting of the MCS Foundation Project Manager and Director, working alongside the HCCSP Manager and Support Officer - delivered the co-design phase. Their combined efforts generated collaboration efficiencies valued at more than £100,000 and unlocked an estimated £80,000 worth of additional consultancy and research input.

The Strategy covers all ten districts and boroughs, as well as the county council, ensuring county-wide benefits. Due to its success, the MCS Foundation awarded £500,000 to HCCSP in January 2026 to help fund future retrofit work. District and borough councils agreed to contribute £2,000 each towards the new retrofit coordinator role and Hertfordshire County Council has contributed £20,000 towards a retrofit delivery fund.

Funding will enable the identified actions to be delivered including resident support, skills and training improvements and landlord convening, as well as a new retrofit system coordinator role. Savings and efficiencies will be reinvested into delivery, local skills, and resident support.

Next steps

The stakeholder network was designed to continue beyond the co-design phase and embed retrofit delivery within Hertfordshire’s long-term governance and climate programmes. The new Retrofit Steering Group meets monthly and oversees delivery, monitoring and coordination across all sectors. Its membership reflects the full retrofit system, including local authorities, colleges, housing providers, SMEs, and community organisations.

A key next step is the recruitment of the agreed retrofit system coordinator role. This role will look to progress the breadth of actions outlined in the Retrofit Strategy Action Plan, predominantly the lack of trusted sources of advice for residents, particularly those in fuel poverty, and support consistent navigation of funding and delivery options. This role will also strengthen the link between households, contractors, and community groups.

Funding secured through the Growth Board local authority and the MCS Foundation provides a robust budget for continued work. Development of Hertfordshire’s resident support offer is underway, with launch planned for summer 2026. A coordinated approach, aligned with Warm Home Plan ambition, will provide advice, funding guidance, and highlight accredited installers.

Hertfordshire continues to collaborate with the other LARA pilot areas and plans to share learning widely through local networks, regional forums, and national platforms such as UK100. The Strategy will be embedded within Hertfordshire’s climate, housing, and economic programmes to ensure long-term impact and alignment.

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