When property owners are writing to lobby government ministers, the debate is getting serious. Worried that local authorities are becoming increasingly resistant to owners knocking down buildings for redevelopment, the London Property Alliance sent an open letter to Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove saying that government and local planning policy should promote “retrofit first but not retrofit only”. At issue is what emits more carbon — knocking down an old building and developing a new, super-carbon-efficient asset or retrofitting the old building to make it more energy-efficient? 
The science is becoming increasingly clear.If an existing building can be maintained and made more energy-efficient, that almost always emits less carbon than demolishing it and building even the most operationally carbon-efficient building. That's because the embodied carbon created from the concrete, glass and steel used…  Read the full story here. | 
