The four pilot areas for the Local Authority Retrofit Accelerator (LARA) pilot are: Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Liverpool City Region and Surrey.

The scheme is run by The MCS Foundation and supported by Ashden, Connected Places Catapult, the National Retrofit Hub and the UK Green Buildings Council (UKGBC).

LARA aims to get strategic stakeholders in each locality involved in developing an ambitious retrofit strategy for their area, including training providers, social landlords and community organisations involved in fuel poverty alleviation work as well as local authorities. If the pilot proves successful then the partnership hopes to launch in more localities. The results of the pilot will be published in spring 2025.

Alastair Mumford, programme director at The MCS Foundation, said: ‘The UK needs to retrofit one house every two minutes for the next 30 years if we are to meet net zero targets. A huge drive of this kind will need extensive and effective collaboration. LARA aims to support localities in scaling up retrofitting in their area, for warm homes, low bills, and essential progress towards net zero.'