Retrofit Summit 2025 - Delegate Pack - New London Architecture

Venue
Livery Hall
Guildhall (entrance via Basinghall St)
London
EC2V 7HH

Join this NLA Retrofit Summit, sponsored by WilkinsonEyre and CIVIC, part of NLA’s Adaptive London research and programming, to hear how London’s built environment is addressing the challenges, policies, and opportunities in scaling retrofit for a more resilient city.

By 2050, 80% of London’s existing building stock will need to be retrofitted to meet net-zero targets, posing a significant challenge to the built environment industries. Retrofitting presents an opportunity not only to drive down carbon emissions, but to boost economic activity, improve health and wellbeing, and support a more climate-resilient city, while retaining the architectural character and heritage that define London.

This NLA Retrofit Summit brings together senior leaders from local government, policy, planning, and the built environment sector to discuss the power of adaptive reuse in addressing the following critical themes that are driving the retrofit agenda in London.

The summit will cover key topics, spanning policy, commercial viability, planning and heritage, skills and supply chains in commercial and residential retrofit and the innovations that are driving the future of retrofit across the city.

This summit will explore these issues, learn from best practices and discuss ways in which we can accelerate the path to a greener, more sustainable city.

Programme

08:30 Registration and Breakfast

Session One: Retrofit Policy and Strategy

09:00 Welcome from Chair
Catherine Staniland, Director, NLA

09:03 Keynote Address
James Atherton, Development Director, The Crown Estate

09:13 Advancing Net Zero
Yetunde Abdul, Director of Industry Transformation, UK Green Building Council

09:20 Panel Discussion & Q&As
Speakers above, plus:
Tom Burke, Head of Design, Conservation and Sustainability, City of Westminster
Richard Nelson, Co-Founder, Don’t Waste Buildings

10:00 End

Session Two: Commercial Viability

In conversation session bringing together industry perspectives to discuss the commercial viability of retrofit.

10:08 Introduction from Chair
Ruth Oates, Director, Buro Four

10:10 In conversation: Industry perspectives on how to make retrofit commercially viable
Yasmin Al-Ani Spence, Board Director, WilkinsonEyre
Kathryn Thomas, Managing Director, Citigroup
Penny Vinten, Head of Business Development – Major Projects, Overbury

10:43 Closing comments from Chair

10:45 End

Session Three: Planning and Heritage

A panel discussion examining the key planning challenges affecting retrofit projects and strategies to preserve heritage without compromise.

10:50 Introduction from Chair
Hannah Jameson, Climate Change Programme Director, London Councils

10:55 How are planning barriers impacting retrofit?
Laura Jenkinson, Principal, Avison Young

11:02 How can we meet modern sustainability standards without compromising on heritage?

Tom Foxall, Regional Director, Historic England

11:09 Panel discussion & Q&As

Speakers above

11:28 End

Session Four: Skills and Supply chains

A panel session exploring the key challenges around skills and supply chains in both commercial and residential retrofit, and how the sectors can learn from one another.

12:00 Introduction from Chair
Marion Baeli, Principal, Sustainability Transformation, 10 Design

12:02 Commercial innovations / supply chains

Michael Clark, Design Director, Hadley Property Group

12:09 Skills
Andrew Wholley, Technical Principal, Mott Macdonald

12:14 Panel discussion & Q&As
Speakers above

12:34 End

Session Five: Innovations in Retrofit Practices

A panel session highlighting the latest advances in materials and engineering driving retrofit practices, and the crucial role of collaboration in turning innovation into impact.

12:44 Introduction from Chair

Catherine Staniland, Director, NLA

12:46 Retrofit advances in engineering and the power of collaboration

Gareth Atkinson, Director, CIVIC

Harriet Browning, Senior Associate and Sustainability Lead, CIVIC

12:56 Supporting innovation for long term resilience
Nick Jarman, Senior Development Director, Stanhope

13:03 Panel discussion & Q&As

Speakers above

13:20 End

13:20 – 13:30 Networking

Speaker Biographies

Penny Vinten

Head of Business Development
Overbury

Retrofit Summit 2025 - Delegate Pack

Speaker Biographies

Delegate List

Stay in touch

Upgrade your plan

Choose the right membership for your business