The new National President of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has started his presidency with a strong warning on the urgent need to improve retrofit standards, spotlighting pioneering projects in York that showcase best practice and offer a clear blueprint for delivering quality, sustainable home improvements.
Phillip Hall joined FMB Chief Executive Brian Berry for a visit to two leading projects, a state-of-the-art Victorian terrace retrofit and the York Minster Centre of Excellence for Heritage Craft Skills. The visit coincided with the publication of a National Audit Office report exposing widespread failures in the Government’s ECO energy efficiency scheme, prompting the FMB to re-issue calls for licensing building companies to drive up standards, something the FMB has long campaigned for.
The UK’s largest Trade Body warns that this lack of regulation allows poor workmanship and rogue traders to flourish, undermining consumer trust and national retrofit ambitions. The FMB revealed earlier this year £14.3bn has been lost across the country to rogue builders, over the last five years alone.
At 23 Vine Street, a City of York Council demonstrator property, the FMB leaders saw how a classic Victorian terrace can be transformed without compromising liveability. The project features air source heat pumps, internal insulation using natural materials, solar panels with battery storage, and a mechanical ventilation and heat recovery system. The property is part of YorEnergy, which has secured £3.37 million from Innovate UK. After its showcase period, it will become a home for social housing tenants, proving high-spec retrofit work is a succesfulst reality.
Phillip Hall, President of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), said: "The need for traditional high-quality skills combined with digital technology is often overlooked, which is a big mistake when quality building work is needed more than ever. The recent fiasco around external wall insulation is a good example of this and lessons need to be learnt. The YorEnergy demonstrator Victorian terraced house in Vine Street, York is an excellent example of getting retrofit right and needs to be repeated in many more homes across the country."
The visit included discussion of York's new Retrofit One-Stop Shop (ROSSY), an award-winning initiative breaking down barriers to green home upgrades while upskilling local tradespeople. At York Minster's Centre of Excellence for Heritage Craft Skills and Estate Management, the team saw how traditional crafts are being preserved through cutting-edge training facilities. The Centre, featuring dedicated residential facilities for apprentices, is establishing York as an international hub for stonemason training and historic building conservation.
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), added: "At a time when the construction sector is experiencing an acute skills shortage in all the trades, it is really encouraging that the Centre of Excellence for Heritage Craft Skills and Estate Management in York is showcasing how traditional skills can be taught to the highest level. Its facilities within the precinct of York Minster are at the cutting edge of modern teaching, placing it on an international footing. It's an exemplar of how best to revitalise the reputation of the building industry by offering first-class training. More centres of excellence are needed across the country to help tackle the skills crisis and deliver quality buildings."
Carolyn Frank, North Director of the Federation of Master Builders, concluded: "FMB's role in raising quality standards in construction is to shine a light on such examples of good practice and share knowledge across the sector. As a York and North Yorkshire resident, I was proud to share these sites on my doorstep in York. FMB welcomes the commitment in York to next generation skills as well as the demonstration of excellence in home improvements and heritage construction. Both sites are bold, exciting and are a great example to the rest of the UK – with over 7 million homes to retrofit, and many thousands of other ageing buildings to protect and modernise, the opportunity is there to make the very best job of it, and York is leading the way."
