The Richmond Sustainability Forum, held on 12 October 2024, drew 200 homeowners to a church hall in Twickenham. They came for one reason: their gas bills had doubled since 2021, and the council was offering free advice on insulation, heat pumps, and solar panels. This is not a fringe event. It is a template for how local government can, and must, drive the UK’s retrofit revolution.
As reported by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, the forum featured talks from Energy Saving Trust advisors and local installers. The key message: start with the basics, loft insulation, cavity wall fill, draught-proofing, before spending thousands on heat pumps or solar. That sequence alone can cut a typical semi-detached home’s heating demand by 30%, according to Energy Saving Trust figures.
Who qualifies, and who doesn’t
The Great British Insulation Scheme, launched in 2023, offers free or subsidised insulation to households in EPC bands D to G with a combined income under £31,000. For those above that threshold, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme provides £7,500 towards a heat pump, but only if the property already has decent insulation. Richmond’s forum made this clear: grants are not a free pass. They require a minimum EPC rating of D for heat pump eligibility under current rules.
Yet the catch is that nearly 40% of Richmond’s housing stock is pre-1919, with solid walls that cannot be cavity-filled. Those homes need external or internal wall insulation, costing £8,000–£15,000 for a typical three-bed terrace. No grant currently covers the full cost. The forum signposted to the council’s own top-up scheme, which adds £2,000 for low-income households, but that still leaves a gap of several thousand pounds.
What it costs a typical 3-bed semi
A full retrofit, loft insulation (£500–£1,000), cavity wall fill (£1,000–£2,500), double glazing (£4,000–£7,000), and an air-source heat pump (£7,000–£13,000 after the grant), totals roughly £15,000–£25,000. The payback: annual energy savings of £800–£1,200 at current price cap levels, meaning 12–20 years. That assumes no future price rises, which Ofgem’s latest projections suggest are unlikely to fall significantly before 2027.
But the forum also highlighted a less-discussed benefit: EPC improvement. A jump from band D to C can increase a home’s value by 5–8%, according to recent research from the Department for Levelling Up. With mortgage lenders increasingly offering lower rates for higher-EPC properties, the financial case is stronger than the savings alone suggest.
Why local forums matter more than national campaigns
National schemes like the Great British Insulation Scheme have been criticised for low uptake, only 25,000 homes treated in the first year against a target of 300,000. The Richmond forum offers a model: face-to-face advice, trusted local installers, and follow-up home surveys. The council reported that 60% of attendees booked a free home energy assessment within two weeks of the event.
The government’s own Net Zero Strategy targets 600,000 heat pump installations per year by 2028. At current rates, 55,000 in 2023, that looks aspirational. Local forums like Richmond’s are the missing link between policy and pavement. They turn abstract targets into a list of local contractors and a calendar of grant deadlines.
What this misses, however, is the sheer scale of the task. Richmond has 80,000 homes. Even if every attendee retrofits, that is 0.25% of the borough’s stock. The forum model works for early adopters, but mass adoption requires something else: lower upfront costs, simpler grant applications, and a single national register of accredited installers. The government has promised a ‘one-stop shop’ portal by 2025, but no detail has emerged.
For now, the message from Richmond is clear: start with a home energy assessment. Book one through the Energy Saving Trust or your local council. Then prioritise insulation before generation. Grants exist, but they are finite and time-limited. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme closes to new applications in March 2027. That is just 28 months away.
Frequently Asked Questions
Check your local council's website under 'sustainability' or 'climate action'. Many councils run free events with Energy Saving Trust advisors. If none exist, contact your council's climate officer and ask them to organise one, the Richmond model shows it works.
Technically yes, but practically no. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme requires your property to have a minimum EPC rating of D, which typically means adequate loft and wall insulation. Without it, the heat pump will run inefficiently and your bills may rise.
