🌿 Net Zero Target:

Friday 6th June 2025

The Green Economy Debate

Finchley Central, N3 2

Barnet’s Net Zero by 2042 Goal: Finchley’s Green Economy Needs Skills, Not Just Targets

Barnet Council has set an ambitious goal to become a Net Zero borough by 2042. This vision, heavily featured in the Economic Development Framework released in June 2025, places a huge emphasis on the Green Economy—a priority sector for the borough.

For residential construction in established areas like Finchley Central (N3 2), this doesn't mean building new blocks; it means Retrofit. The vast majority of our work here is on older, detached, and semi-detached homes that are thermal energy sieves. To hit Net Zero, these must be insulated, sealed, and have their heating systems replaced (gas boiler to heat pump).

The Skills Gap: The problem is the workforce. By 2025, there was a major shortage of accredited PAS 2035 Retrofit Coordinators and competent Heat Pump Engineers. We can install the best insulation, but if the heat pump engineer is scarce, the Timeline blows out.

The Homeowner Cost: While the council has targets, the vast cost of whole-house deep retrofit—easily £50,000 to £100,000 for a typical N3 house—falls almost entirely on the homeowner, who is already grappling with rising costs (Headline 6).

Robbins Construction Ltd Opinion: The 2042 target is admirable, but impossible without a massive public-private partnership. Barnet should leverage its university links (Middlesex) to subsidise and fast-track training courses for local tradespeople in energy efficiency. Targets mean nothing if we don't have enough qualified people on the ground to deliver the work on Ballards Lane and beyond.