The government could meet a third of its ambitious housing targets by transforming historic buildings for residential use, a report by a cross-party group of MPs has found.
The report, titled Protecting built heritage and published this week by the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) select committee, said fast-tracking planning applications for existing buildings could unlock up to 670,000 homes. The government has a target to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029.
In its conclusion, the report blamed an over-rigid planning system for allowing historic buildings to be left unused and added: “…heritage-led housing is no longer a niche or peripheral opportunity, but a major and under-recognised means of addressing the country’s acute housing shortage.”
The types of historic buildings identified in the report as being suitable for residential conversions include: vacant heritage buildings in town centres; upper floors above shops; redundant civic and industrial buildings (such as mills, banks and barracks); and surplus public estate assets.
Five-point plan for heritage buildings
The report makes five main proposals to prioritise reuse of existing building stock:
- Establish a Heritage-to-Housing scheme: The government should launch a UK-specific scheme inspired by international models such as Italy’s €1 homes model.
- Implement a ‘Reuse-first’ housing policy: National policy should prioritise conversion of vacant or underused historic buildings over new builds. Developers should be required to demonstrate that reuse was prioritised over demolition.
- Create high street regeneration zones: Local authorities should be empowered to designate specific regeneration zones backed by targeted funding, planning flexibility, and a stronger ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ regime for long-term vacant buildings.
- Build a standardised national dataset: Together with Historic England, the government should publish and annually update a standardised, publicly accessible dataset mapping the condition, ownership, risk status and maintenance spending of heritage assets across England.
- Protect contemporary cultural heritage: The listed building framework should expand to recognise and protect buildings of high social and cultural value (such as grassroots music venues, nightclubs, and activist spaces).
The report adds: “Without a more coherent and proactive approach, increasing numbers of historic buildings will fall into disuse or managed decline, representing a loss not only to the historic environment but to growth and regeneration. The government must take sustained action to prioritise active use and remove the structural barriers that continue to hold the sector back.”
The 68-page report follows an 18-month inquiry by the committee, which heard evidence from architects, local authorities, trade bodies and heritage groups including Historic England, SAVE Britain’s Heritage and the City of London.
