Becontree Estate Retrofit Guide

Retrofit Strategy for North East London

The Becontree Estate is the UK’s largest council housing estate. The 29,000 homes cover four square miles and house 40% of the population of London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
Built in the 1920s and 1930s, it was based on the fundamental principle of creating an environment for people to live a better life. Humblebee collaborated with Archio on a retrofit strategy for Be First (Barking and Dagenham’s regeneration company).
Barking and Dagenham is one of two LPAs in London funded by MHCLG to pilot design codes to deliver more sustainable and beautiful places.

Resident Engagement
The delivery of a practical and affordable retrofit strategy was enabled through an extensive stakeholder engagement process. Initial engagement on a number of retrofit solutions
was key to ensure that the strategy will be easily
adoptable by residents and preserve the historic character of Becontree.
Residents’ views and priorities were taken into account in a continual process of refinement of modelling assumptions and desired outcomes, with interim reports to the client.

A Template for Estate-wide Retrofit
Together with Archio, Humblebee took EPC data that the Borough provided, along with survey information to identify the main types of property that needed to be evaluated. A significant number of homes that were still in the Council’s
portfolio did not have EPCs and so data had to be extrapolated, treated with caution and understood better through workshops – using a pioneering co-design process – and actual resident behaviours.
Taking the architects’ modelling, the characteristics of the archetypes and their particular challenges, humblebee reviewed and applied practical expertise to make the results more reflective of the realities of UK homes and the way they are operated, such as realistic average internal temperatures, heating and ventilation patterns and adaptive behaviours.
As well as determining the most cost effective energy efficiency upgrades, health and comfort outcomes were taken into account. This allowed Be First to present the results as opportunities with broader performance indicators whilst
managing resident expectations.
To reflect the mix of tenure and demographic representation, the strategy has in-built flexibility, with different levels of intervention.
The guide includes acceptable extensions, as this is often the driver for refurbishing existing dwellings, and addresses details such as porches and roof alterations.
The Becontree Retrofit Design Code and Becontree Retrofit Guide was consulted on earlier this year as a Local Plan SPD, allowing residents to access solutions and have confidence in their retrofit journeys pre-Planning.

Model House: Aspiration Gets Real
The completed strategy is being tested through the refurbishment of a ‘model house’. The design was an integral part of the project that humblebee developed the PHPP model for and advised on.
Developing and implementing the retrofit design of an existing property allows Be First to test their cost estimates, and offer practical solutions to known (and likely some unforeseen) challenges.
The intent was originally to have a showcase property, demonstrating what is possible, as well as a possible use as temporary accommodation for families to move into and experience while their homes are being retrofitted. We understand it is first being used as a retrofit skills test bed for a local youth training college, a much-needed initiative.

A Learning Project
As a pilot project, humblebee took on the commission to impart expertise but also prepared to absorb the energy of a dynamic organisation such as Be First, learn to assimilate
large data sets, challenge assumptions and appreciate the breadth of life experiences of an entire community, which all fed into the final outputs.
The aim was to build on local knowledge and lived experience to arrive at an improvements report that genuinely responds to local needs, structured into a robust, deliverable framework.