Let's treat heritage buildings as civic infrastructure

‘Now I will believe that there are unicorns...' [William Shakespeare, Act 3, Scene 3, The Tempest]For a new Prime Minister in a hurry, the impetus is always on to hunt the mythical policy unicorn, an easy, popularly acclaimed win-win call that won't involve a wrangle with the Treasury or any political friction whatsoever. Earlier this month, the Commons Culture, Media and Sports Select Committee argued that they had found a unicorn amid the thickets of place policy in claiming half of the Government's 1.5 million home building target could be met by giving a new lease of life to historic buildings currently lying vacant or under-used.The panel of MPs highlighted there is ‘a major missed opportunity for heritage to contribute to the local and national economy' and called for a change in the government's approach both to secure the long-term future of the historic environment and to unlock its full potential to support growth.Heritage includes both tangible assets, such as historic buildings, landscapes, archives and collections, and intangible forms, including skills, traditions, stories and memory. Treating this inheritance as civic infrastructure recognises its continuing role in local identity, social connection, economic activity and the long-term development of place.This year, Localis has been looking at this self-same issue of the role of heritage, localism and place policy through the example of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford upon Avon. Using the cradle of England's national poet as the central case study, our report ‘What's past is prologue' shows how heritage organisations can act as anchor institutions, generating demand, supporting local supply chains and helping communities shape the places in which they live.As a theme, heritage is the consummate localist issue. It connects the past, present and future of place. Historic buildings, landscapes, collections, skills, stories and traditions shape local identity while supporting employment, visitor economies, wellbeing and community life. But like the committee, we also found that heritage as place-policy remains too often confined to conservation or tourism policy, rather than treated as part of the civic and economic infrastructure through which places grow and adapt. Heritage includes both tangible assets, such as historic buildings, landscapes, archives and collections, and intangible forms, including skills, traditions, stories and memory. Treating this inheritance as civic infrastructure recognises its continuing role in local identity, social connection, economic activity and the long-term development of place.In the main, heritage generates economic demand through visitors, conservation work, programming, investment and wider spending across place. Its local impact depends on how much of this activity councils and heritage organisations can capture and circulate through local employment, procurement, businesses and skills. Accessible contracts, stronger supplier networks and longer visitor stays can reduce leakage and retain more value within local economies.Heritage can strengthen wellbeing, belonging, education and pride in place, while traditional crafts and conversation skills support both stewardship and the retrofit of historic buildings. These benefits depend on access and representation. As a force for local growth, heritage can also support town centre renewal, housing, workspaces, community infrastructure and environmental objectives when embedded within economic, cultural and spatial strategies. From an environmental perspective, adaptive reuse of heritage properties can preserve local character and embodied carbon. On the other side of the accounting ledger, however, the costs of repair and long-term maintenance often require patient public, private or philanthropic investment. As we move forward into the future of local government reorganisation, devolution and strategic planning reform, Localis makes the following set of recommendations to central government, strategic authorities and local authorities in order to address these interdependencies.National government has the power to make tangible and intangible heritage visible across national place policy. As such, heritage should be consistently reflected within infrastructure, regeneration, community ownership and place-based policy, recognising the relationship between historic assets, landscapes, cultural practices and traditional skills. Central government should also publish heritage-specific appraisal guidance for place-based investment. The relevant departments, HM Treasury, MHCLG and DCMS should provide guidance that helps decision-makers apply Green Book principles to heritage, including non-use value, wellbeing and other benefits that conventional economic measures can overlook. Local authorities act as the linchpin of heritage systems through their planning, asset management, convening and place-leadership roles. Strategic authorities can connect heritage to regional growth, transport, skills and investment, while heritage organisations provide specialist knowledge and local legitimacy. Effective stewardship depends on these institutions aligning around shared outcomes and retaining the professional capacity needed to deliver them. Strategic authorities for their side should make heritage a defined part of Local Growth Plans and investment evidence bases, identifying heritage assets, clusters, visitor flows, conservation needs, skills gaps and growth opportunities within their spatial and economic strategies. Similarly, regional skills systems should recognise conversation, traditional building crafts, historic building retrofit, interpretation and estate stewardship as part of local labour market and decarbonisation priorities.For their part, local authorities should make the shift from Local Plan recognition towards delivery-focused heritage planning. In effect, councils should use heritage evidence bases, site allocations, regeneration strategies and asset plans to identify how historic assets can support housing, public realm, biodiversity, community use and town-centre renewal. And as property owners, councils should use their own heritage assets to support long-term stewardship. Jonathan Werran is chief executive, Localis

Title

HERITAGE

Let's treat heritage buildings as civic infrastructure

By Jonathan Werran | 29 July 2026

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