Retrofit Innovation

We’re excited to announce the launch of a feasibility study exploring the creation of a Cornwall Retrofit Hub. Made possible through our successful funding bid to the Great British Energy Community Fund (GBECF) and the South West Zero Hub. The Great British Energy Community Fund is a £5million programme from the new publicly owned energy company Great British Energy. The Fund is for communities to develop energy related projects that will benefit their local area.

Cornwall has some of the oldest and least energy-efficient homes in the UK. At the same time, the region has a rapidly growing green skills sector, ambitious local climate targets, and an opportunity to be a leader in the South West in low-carbon innovation.

Over the coming months, we’ll be engaging with industry, community groups, and local residents to understand what a Cornwall Retrofit Hub should provide and how it can create maximum impact.

If you work in retrofit, construction, sustainability, housing, or community energy in Cornwall, we’d love to hear from you – drop us a line at retrofit@cep.org.uk

Together, we can design a retrofit ecosystem that works for Cornwall, boosts green jobs, and accelerates the transition to warm, healthy, low-carbon homes.

👉 Register your interest by using the signup form below.

🏠 Cornwall Retrofit Hub

Why the need for a feasibility study?

To accelerate this opportunity, we’ve launched a feasibility study to evaluate the need, scope and design of a dedicated Cornwall Home Upgrade Hub – a central resource that could support:

Homeowners seeking trusted retrofit guidance
Installers and tradespeople accessing skills, training and accreditation
Local authorities and housing providers scaling up retrofit delivery
Supply-chain partners building capacity and confidence
Better design choices and the use of appropriate, low-carbon materials
The region’s journey toward net-zero and warmer, healthier homes.

What is Cornwall Council’s Decarbonisation Strategy?

Our work to develop a Cornwall Home Upgrade Hub is underpinned by Cornwall Council’s Decarbonisation Strategy, a document which puts Cornwall ahead of many other areas in tackling emissions from homes.

The strategy focuses on the practical steps needed to cut carbon from housing and shows how the public and private sectors can work together to make change happen faster. By aligning with this approach, the Hub will help reduce energy use and bills, while making homes across Cornwall warmer, healthier and more affordable to live in.

Read the strategy Housing Decarbonisation Strategy for Cornwall

How can we raise standards, ensuring no one is left behind?

We’ve launched a feasibility study into the creation of a Retrofit Hub for Cornwall, exploring how a coordinated approach could support skills, capacity, quality, and long-term demand across the retrofit sector.

💡We want your thoughts on the future of building standards. How important is staying ahead of building code updates and energy efficiency standards for your business?

📢 We’re looking to hear from:

Construction companies
Retrofit installers
Engineers (all disciplines)
Trades and specialist contractors
SMEs and sole traders working in the built environment

🏡 Your insight will help shape how a Cornwall Retrofit Hub could:

Support local businesses
Improve access to work and training
Raise retrofit standards and quality
Strengthen collaboration across the supply chain

This is an opportunity to influence something at the ground floor - ensuring it works for contractors like you.

👉 Interested in participating or sharing your perspective? Drop us an email: retrofit@cep.org.uk

Let’s build the future of retrofit in Cornwall - together.

Retrofit Reimagined event: 12 March 2026

We are really pleased to have joined forces with the Sustainable Construction Advisory Panel (SCAP) at Truro and Penwith College. We’re thrilled to be building on our shared belief that the future of the sector should be shaped by those within it, for the benefit of all of us.

We are co-hosting a free to all session - Retrofit Reimagined, aiming to bring together a broad group, from sector leaders to SME mavericks, to homeowners, to explore new thinking, practical solutions, and collaborative approaches to addressing the current challenges in retrofit delivery across Cornwall.

Amongst others, we are delighted to welcome Phil Ireland, Director of Irebuild, as our headline speaker. Featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs, Irebuild is a people-first SME known for its innovative eco-building practices, use of low-impact and reclaimed materials, and strong commitment to creating education and employment opportunities within the community.

We will also hear from Jonathan Atkinson, Co-founder and Retrofit Lead at Carbon Co-op and Business Director at People Powered Retrofit. Jonathan will share insights from his extensive work developing community-led, scalable retrofit and low-carbon initiatives.

The event will contribute to our feasibility work exploring the development of a Cornwall Home Upgrade Hub.

Your input will help shape a vital initiative for future skills development, training provision, and emissions reduction across the region.

We hope you will join us for this important and collaborative session - lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Reserve your spot! Retrofit Reimagined, 12 March, from 12:30–16:30, at the Valency Conference Rooms, Truro College 💚

What's the biggest barrier holding back home retrofit? Take our poll

Part of our feasibility work on a Cornwall Home Upgrade Hub is to spotlight the key challenges slowing down retrofit delivery - the obvious ones being skills and workforce shortages; fragmented supply chains; upfront costs and access to finance; complex standards; funding; compliance; homeowner confusion; and lack of trusted advice.

But, we also know the sector sees these challenges from many angles.

💭 We’d love your perspective: which barrier has the biggest real-world impact on retrofit actually happening?

Vote below: