London prompts urgent retrofit plans as heatwave risks intensify

Credit: iStock – Igor Barilo

The London Assembly has called on Sadiq Khan to speed up the retrofitting of homes across the capital as concern grows over the dangers of overheating during increasingly severe heatwaves.

The warning comes after what meteorologists have described as the UK’s hottest summer on record, with the Assembly saying that without faster action, more than one million children could face health problems linked to homes that are unable to stay cool.

Its report argues that London’s housing stock is poorly prepared for a warmer climate, particularly in the social sector, where about three-quarters of homes are said to be at high risk of overheating.

The Assembly says planning and building standards should do more to reduce heat exposure, including better design, shading and greener streets, rather than relying on emergency measures once temperatures rise.

The debate has also drawn sharper political criticism over whether London is doing enough to adapt. David Simmonds, the shadow minister for levelling up, housing and communities, said what he described as restrictive attitudes to air conditioning and street-tree planting were leaving residents more exposed to dangerous heat.

Max Anderson of the Conservative Environment Network made a similar argument, saying homes without cooling systems were becoming unsafe and that more trees were needed to help protect people from heat-related illness.

However, City Hall has pushed back against claims that London has an outright ban on air conditioning. In guidance published by the Greater London Authority, the Mayor said there is no such prohibition, but noted that the London Plan and national building rules give priority to passive cooling methods such as orientation, shading, ventilation and green infrastructure.

The London Assembly’s planning and regeneration committee is separately examining whether the capital’s homes are ready for hotter summers, including how people are already coping and what more can be done to reduce risk.