Jackie Heath and Paul Maddison, CARE engineers and directors at Ramboll UK & Ireland, explore how heritage buildings serve as important and sustainable regeneration projects
The recent ‘Protecting Built Heritage’ report recommends that reusing historic buildings should be a major part of the UK’s housing strategy, suggesting up to 670,000 homes could be created in this way. This should be a call to arms, but why isn’t it already happening?
Historic buildings are frequently left vacant, and therefore prone to deterioration, because existing policy and funding systems do not sufficiently incentivise reuse. The report rightly recognises that occupancy and use are the best ways to look after historic assets.
The committee took evidence from a wide range of stakeholders, whilst also drawing from the 2025 Historic England report, ‘New Homes from Vacant Historic Buildings’. ‘Protecting Built Heritage’ has five recommendations to unlock historic buildings for heritage: prioritising re-use first, establishing a Heritage to Housing scheme, reforming VAT and funding, improving planning and listed building processes, and addressing the heritage skills crisis.
This will deliver homes, protect heritage, and do so sustainably by reducing waste and retaining embodied carbon.
Power of Place
The thinking behind this approach is well-established, with the foundational English Heritage report ‘Power of Place’ from 2000 having redefined heritage as a mainstream contributor to social, economic and environmental wellbeing; sustainable development rather than a niche specialism preserving monuments. ‘Power of Place’ recognised heritage as key to economic growth and regeneration, a source of community identity and social cohesion, a key component of sustainable development and a resource that belongs to everyone, not just specialists. It was an influential report and the precursor to conservation-led regeneration, Heritage at Risk programmes, place-based planning and annual historic environment reports.
Since ‘Power of Place’, the central concept has remained the same: heritage is a living, economically valuable asset that benefits society and enhances wellbeing. Both reports recognise active use as a good way to conserve heritage, and the 2026 report goes further, advocating reuse, adaptation and the deployment of heritage as key parts of delivering the housing strategy.
Blockers
Heritage assets are adapted for homes, of course; however, not enough, and not at the scale needed.
This is partly because universal calls for VAT reforms on listed building works remain unanswered. Maintenance and repair work to listed buildings has always been standard rated, but prior to 2012, approved alterations were 0% rated. There are some reliefs, but the system is complex and, in itself, a barrier. We need simple, targeted relief for the maintenance, repair, and adaptation of historic buildings to level the playing field compared with new-build schemes. Relief would not only incentivise work, improving project viability and generating economic growth, but also signal government direction and intent.
Risks
Historic buildings vary widely, from non-designated buildings that collectively contribute to our historic environment and offer greater flexibility and adaptation potential with lower risk of losing significance, to highly significant Grade I buildings. Not every listed building is right for adaptation, and it’s important to recognise the value of maintaining buildings’ original uses and allowing public access where possible.
Solutions
What more could the conservation industry do to bring developers on board?
Historic England’s 2024 Heritage Works for Housing guidance shows how historic buildings can be successfully adapted for homes. But is it reaching the right audiences?
With government committed to accelerating housebuilding, there is a clear opportunity to bring underused, publicly owned historic buildings back into use.
Successful adaptation requires confidence, good guidance and multidisciplinary expertise – spanning conservation, engineering, planning, environment and building services.
So how do we give developers and public bodies the confidence to unlock more historic buildings for housing?
Derogations and meanwhile uses
There could be merit in extending permitted development rules to certain listed buildings, and non-designated buildings with heritage value, identified for housing schemes.
Historic England’s New Homes from Vacant Historic Buildings (March 2025) points to a more flexible approach to regulation where appropriate. Reflecting these changes in Advice Note 16 could increase confidence among developers and investors, unlocking greater investment in listed buildings for housing.
These ‘relaxation’ options could encourage developers to take on schemes if they knew standards were in place to improve viability.
A derogation from standards for listed buildings converted to housing could help, as it recognises that existing buildings are not perfect and that trying to make them perfect to suit modern standards can be costly, time-consuming, and ultimately to their detriment. For certain schemes, relaxing standards could help ease a temporary accommodation crisis.
These derogations might work best for Meanwhile Occupations. The average tenure for rented properties is around two or three years, so Meanwhile Homes could be created for two or three years with these derogations. The result could be projects that cost less and provide a roof over people’s heads at a lower rent. After a period, they could upgrade the homes.
In Hastings, Jess Steele OBE and residents have pioneered Meanwhile Occupation and use of vacant buildings. The mission of Hastings Commons is to take derelict and difficult buildings around the White Rock area of Hastings into community custody, transforming them into social spaces, homes and workspaces that will always be affordable and open to all. They don’t buy and resell; they deliver, sometimes putting in Meanwhile uses before the long-term use.
Local authorities
A key barrier to heritage-led development is inconsistency across local authorities, often driven by under-resourcing and limited conservation capacity. Lengthy response times, coupled with reluctance on both sides to seek or provide informal advice, can create uncertainty for developers. Increasing the number of well-trained conservation officers, introducing dedicated Conservation Advisors within LPAs, and adopting a more consistent national approach would give developers and asset owners greater confidence to invest in and deliver successful heritage projects through stronger partnerships with local authorities.
Skills
Unlocking the potential of historic buildings for housing will require a stronger pipeline of skilled professionals. The sector faces shortages in traditional building crafts and specialist conservation skills, declining conservation expertise within local authorities, and an ageing workforce across many heritage trades. Despite the sector’s appeal, attracting new talent remains a challenge, while some areas are becoming increasingly reliant on volunteers.
These issues are well documented. The Protecting Built Heritage report echoes findings from the IHBC’s Heritage Skills in Conservation: An Independent Sector Survey (2025), underlining the urgent need to implement longstanding recommendations. This includes developing a national heritage skills strategy, promoting careers in conservation and traditional crafts, expanding apprenticeships and training, and strengthening conservation expertise within local authorities.
While limited capacity can make specialist advice costly, the UK cannot afford to be without it. Investment in skills is essential and should focus on two areas: first, the conservation principles that underpin work on historic buildings, including understanding significance and applying minimum necessary intervention; and second, the practical skills required to work with traditional materials and construction methods.
We already have the evidence, political support and public backing. Successful heritage-to-housing projects demonstrate what is possible. By identifying the right buildings, providing targeted financial incentives, fostering stronger partnerships between developers and local authorities, and investing in skills, we can create sustainable new homes while securing the future of our historic built environment.
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