Affordability for citizens at the heart of renovation

Speaking on the panel alongside Julie Girling, MEP, President of the European Parliament Gypsum Forum, Daniel Calleja, Director General of European Commission DG Environment, Bernard Lekien and the President of Eurogypsum, Patrick Liébus, President of EBC, Housing Europe’s Sorcha Edwards stressed that affordability for citizens needs to be considered if we are to achieve the scale of renovation needed adding that this would require the right balance of subsidies, loans, innovation and up-skilling.

She welcomed the exchange on clever ideas such as for example the addition of living space on roofs of existing buildings to avoid urban sprawl while improving the financial viability of renovation projects. This practice, termed ‘volumetric additions’ or ‘vertical extensions’ was the focus of the conference and also that of the EU funded ABRACADABRA project where Housing Europe is working together with partners from across Europe.