Public body Historic England has launched a guide on helping small and medium-sized developers repurpose historic buildings for residential use.
Redeveloping historic buildings can help address the housing shortage in England, as well as contribute to reaching net zero.
It is a profitable option too, with properties worth up to 10% more just through their proximity to a listed building.
Commissioned by Historic England and drafted by Deloitte, Heritage Works for Housing offers an insight into the benefits and challenges of transforming historic buildings into residential use, as well as providing practical step-by-step guidance at all stages of the process.
This includes advice on feasibility testing, stakeholder engagement, heritage appraisal, design development, building consent and ongoing maintenance.
Duncan Wilson, chief executive at Historic England, said: “This report demonstrates how historic buildings can be part of the solution to the housing crisis.
“It is a timely and useful guide for developers who want to adapt historic buildings for new housing, showing that historic buildings can offer attractive and sustainable living spaces that meet the needs and aspirations of modern homebuyers, while retaining their heritage significance and special character.
“It was great to have the support of Deloitte, who drew on their in-depth experience of delivering housing in historic buildings when drafting the report.”
Historic England said 670,000 homes could be created by repurposing existing historic buildings in England.
You can read the guide, Heritage Works for Housing, HERE.
