Issue - meetings

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0      Purpose of Report or Summary of main Issues

1.1       The purpose of this report is to update Members about the Belfast Retrofit Hub, which was established in September 2022 with the aim of engaging relevant stakeholders and developing a programme of activity which will support preparation for a rollout of retrofit in Belfast.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       The Members of the Committee are asked to:

                                       i          Note that Belfast City Council convened the Belfast Retrofit Hub following analysis within the Belfast Net Zero Carbon Roadmap which indicated that residential, public and commercial buildings are the major source of emissions in the city, alongside transport.

                                     ii          Note that a programme of activity is currently being drafted and will be presented to Belfast Retrofit Hub for consideration on the 17th May 2023.

                                    iii          Agree that regular updates will be brought forward to Committee at key points as the retrofit programme develops.

3.0       Main report

3.1       Background

3.2       Belfast Retrofit Hub met for the first time in September 2022, bringing together NIHE, business leaders, key organisations and the Council to catalyse retrofit activity relating to all public and private buildings in Belfast.

3.3       The Hub’s work is informed by the National Retrofit Strategy (see appendix one) which was produced by the Construction Leadership Council and seeks to ensure that eight interlocking elements are advanced together:

1.      Leadership and communications

2.      Supporting learning and innovation culture focussed on just transition

3.      Performance standards

4.      Finance and grants

5.      Training and accreditation

6.      Materials and equipment

7.      Creating customer demand

8.      Compliance and quality regime

3.4       The agreed purpose of Belfast Retrofit Hub as set out in the terms of reference is:

·        To identify opportunities for retrofit across the city and to bring together the partners who can realise those opportunities

·        To identify and endorse the required standards of building performance that retrofit in Belfast needs to achieve

·        To identify ways of supporting the economic activity, skills and jobs that achieving those standards require

·        To draw together partners to source and release funding

·        To promote a collaborative, solutions approach sharing knowledge across ownership and tenure

·        To ensure engagement with stakeholders across the city, and to support and promote complementary initiatives

·        To report on progress, initially to the Resilience and Sustainability Board

3.5       The Hub was established following the findings of the Belfast Net Zero Carbon Roadmap that buildings and transport are the two highest carbon emitting sectors in Belfast and subsequent Housing Readiness Assessment, which provided areas on which to focus such as the upgrade of building regulations, energy efficiency programmes, and regional policy.

3.6       To date there have been three meetings of the Belfast Retrofit Hub, which meets quarterly, and a series of roundtable discussions focused on specific themes, the outcome of which will inform the draft retrofit work programme. These discussions have allowed engagement with a range of stakeholders beyond the core Hub membership for example with private rental landlords and the Consumer Council. The sessions have  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5