Many owners are stuck with old, inefficient heating systems because alternatives are simply not available at a reasonable price or without making major changes to the fabric of the building. Greener heating systems have started to become available, but the uptake has been slow.

The Club are campaigning to change this and are asking the government provide a dedicated support scheme to enable all listed buildings to start moving to green forms of heating. We are asking for a government loan guarantee for heat pump, biomass and solar thermal systems, as well as  subsidies that mirror the Renewable Heating Incentive scheme. The goal is simple; to reduce the effective cost of these systems and give owners full flexibility to use the most appropriate system for their particular property.

We have written to the chancellor ahead of the budget asking him to consider this approach. While we cannot promise any immediate action, we do believe that our proposal meets the Treasury’s own spending guidelines and is clearly in line with government policy on reducing carbon. For the UK to achieve net zero from our housing stock, some kind of public funding will have to be committed to ensure that the most inefficient buildings move to more sustainable alternatives. Our approach keeps the upfront costs low while still allowing for immediate change and as such we think it is the best approach to quickly update listed buildings.