Unlocking the adaptive re-use potential of industrial heritage (NP 235)

In the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (LURA), a power was introduced to allow for the assessment of compensation for the value of land taken by compulsory purchase to ignore values attributable to the prospect of planning permission ('hope value') in certain circumstances.

Directions to remove hope value can facilitate the acquisition of land at existing use value for provision of housing, development or regeneration schemes where they include public sector-led affordable or social housing, health or education uses, and where it is justified in the public interest.

The overall aim of the research is to answer the following question: 'To what extent does the combination of newly available government capital investment funding and the new LURA powers create a new opportunity for local leaders, with appropriate support from national agencies, to drive growth using industrial heritage assets?

The research objectives are: o to analyse the new compulsory purchase powers and how they would apply to heritage assets such as mills and warehouses that are lying redundant or under-used but offer sustainable growth opportunities; o to consider the relevance of current and anticipated capital funding streams from the Government to the challenge of converting redundant or under-used industrial heritage buildings; o to assess what scope there is within the requirement that schemes would have to be public sector-led for leveraging private investment through joint ventures or similar partnership arrangements that share the risks; o to explore the role Historic England or other national heritage organisations might play in facilitating conversions that secure the contribution that these buildings make to townscapes across the country, such as de-risking third-party investment.