The chairman of Historic England, Lord Neil Mendoza, recently argued that the country’s historic buildings can help to tackle the housing shortage. Writing in The Times on the 2 September 2024, Lord Mendoza drew on research undertaken by Historic England to show that converting some of the country’s historic buildings into housing would foster economic growth and community wellbeing.

He suggeest that “We should embrace the huge untapped potential that older buildings could have in helping to tackle the country’s housing challenge….The greenest building is one that already exists. Let’s resist the urge to demolish and always build anew.” He also noted that 93% of people report that local heritage has improved their quality of life, and concluded that “investing in our shared, irreplaceable cultural past can boost our economy, the creative industries and provide housing. It can also make us feel more connected as communities, and just being around it is good for the soul. Our heritage is one of our country’s superpowers.”

Historic England has estimated that an additional 670,000 homes could be created by repurposing existing historic buildings, including repurposing vacant space is historic textile mills in the urban centres of northern England. Furthermore, HE has helped in the revitalisation of over 60 historic high streets through restoration via the Heritage Action Zone initiative, demonstrating the value of heritage-led urban regeneration in boosting local economies.

The new Labour Government is committed to building 1.5 million new homes over the next five years (2024-29) to help curb the housing crisis. For further details of Historic England’s research follow these links:

https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/heritage-action-zones/

https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/caring-for-heritage/industrial-heritage/

https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/caring-for-heritage/wellbeing-and-heritage-advice/