The contractor has launched a new report – Transform & Renew – Making non-domestic buildings fit for a low carbon future – to promote the re-use and repurposing of existing non-domestic buildings.
Among its 12 recommendations is a presumption in favour of redevelopment in UK planning policy.
Others include providing more clarity on energy efficiency regulations for commercial buildings, reviewing retrofit funding allocations for the public sector and exploring new fiscal incentives around the reuse or recycling of materials in the built environment.
The Mace report follows the recent high profile case of plans by M&S to demolish its flagship London store being called-in because of concerns over the amount of embedded carbon it contains.
Mace said introducing a ‘consideration of retrofit’ for every major planning application that involves demolition, would result in fewer schemes being suddenly halted in the future – providing more certainty for developers and the wider industry.
The report notes that demolition may be the best decision for a building, such as when the existing building was poorly designed or if it did not meet modern building safety standards. However, by explaining the need to demolish there would be greater assurance for stakeholders that sustainability has been considered.
Gareth Lewis, CEO, Mace Construct, said: “If construction is to reduce its impact on the environment, we must aim to re-use and repurpose as much of our existing building stock as possible.
“Many buildings may not require demolition and can be transformed and renewed through retrofit into fantastic new assets, savings tonnes of embodied carbon in the process. We are therefore urging the government to mandate consideration of retrofit at the planning stage to avoid unnecessary demolition.
“However, demolition can sometimes be necessary because of poor design or critical safety reasons, and it’s therefore important we avoid binary debates on new build versus retrofit.
“If demolition is required, then the reasons for this should be made clear from the onset. Developers should also consider how elements of the building can be retained, reused or recycled – adopting a circular mindset to construction.”
