Green Heritage Homes is a project to improve understanding of energy efficiency works for listed buildings, and to showcase positive examples of retrofit.
The project aims to:
- Enable sensitive retrofitting of listed buildings by growing knowledge and confidence among householders and professionals.
- Demystify the listed building consent process for energy improvement works.
- Offer guidance on effective retrofit solutions informed by conservation principles and technical understanding of traditional buildings and fabrics.
This project will focus on listed buildings and the unique challenge that comes with upgrading their energy performance, as well as their specific planning requirements. There is continued advice and support for homeowners of unlisted heritage buildings across the district, and further resources on practical retrofit guidance will be made available through the project.
Green Heritage Homes is a government funded Local Energy Advice Demonstrator project, run in partnership with Bath and West Community Energy (lead), B&NES Council, Bath Preservation Trust, The Centre for Sustainable Energy, People Powered Retrofit, and the South West Net Zero Hub.
Listed Building Champions
Working with Bath and West Community Energy (BWCE), we’re looking for owners and occupiers of listed buildings in Bath and North East Somerset to sign up and become ‘Listed Building Energy Champions’. Champions will have unique access to discounted Listed Building Surveys undertaken by conservation and retrofit experts, including:
- a site visit by a B&NES Council Conservation Officer, accompanied by a BWCE Retrofit Surveyor, to discuss available options and heritage considerations.
- a BWCE Retrofit Surveyor conducting a 'Home Energy Efficiency Plan' for your home, which includes a home visit, in-house energy advice on how to improve your home’s energy efficiency, and a tailored report summarising the retrofit options best suited to your needs.
- an option to receive a free Energy Performance Certificate for your home if you don’t already have one.
- Becoming a Champion involves agreeing to participate in case studies and sharing information on energy use with the project team and wider networks to help inspire others.
- If you are the landlord of a listed building, we can offer a similar service, but the energy survey will use Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) software, to advise on options for achieving compliance or an exemption from the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) regulations.
The cost of this support package is just £90 to become part of a community of like-minded, passionate individuals seeking sustainable, energy efficient change in the historic environment.
If you’re interested in finding out more, contact Bath and West Community Energy by emailing home.energy@bwce.coop
Find out more about Listed Building Champions on the BWCE website
Retrofitting Listed Buildings - Level 0 Pre-App
We offer a Level 0 pre-application service for homeowners who are interested in improving the energy of their listed building but don’t know where to start. You will have the chance to discuss retrofit options with a Conservation Officer and look at the heritage considerations of different energy efficiency measures.
The service is tailored to an applicant’s needs, budget, and the identified characteristics of the listed building. The aim of the pre-app is to clearly identify the next steps of a retrofit project and submitting a listed building application with the best chance of success.
Applicants for the Level 0 pre-app receive:
- allocated Conservation Officer to manage the pre-app.
- a site visit to investigate the listed building and identify any potential restrictions or opportunities for energy efficiency works.
- pre-app report outlining suitability of retrofit measures and the next steps to progress energy efficiency works.
Schemes that are submitted via the Level 0 pre-app service will also have the opportunity to participate in the Green Heritage Homes project by creating case studies of listed building retrofit within Bath and North East Somerset.
Contact our Planning & Conservation team with quick questions about the planning process and listed buildings by calling 01225 394041 or emailing conservation_andplanning@bathnes.gov.uk on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
For further information on the Green Heritage Homes project, email alexandra_best@bathnes.gov.uk
Empty Homes
If you are the owner of a property that has been empty for six months and over, the council offers financial incentives and practical support to help bring them back into use, details can be found on our No use empty page or by contacting the Empty Property Officer directly or by telephone.
Trading standards
There are two key pieces of legislation covering Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES). Use this guidance for an overview of the differences between them, how they apply to listed buildings, and how the regulations work together.