Heritage and Regeneration Advice Hub

Great places have heritage at their core. Every settlement across England, whether a medieval market town or a post-war city centre, has a unique history that can be harnessed to help achieve a prosperous future. Heritage can create value and sustain economic vitality, supporting jobs and attracting investment. It provides a canvas for flourishing cultural activity and helps build connected and healthy communities.

Below are some resources to support and inspire those who want to harness local heritage as a catalyst to regenerate and revitalise both communities and local economies.

How to Run a Heritage Led Regeneration Scheme

Heritage Led Regeneration Toolkit
This toolkit is designed to empower anyone leading or taking part in a regeneration scheme with heritage at its heart.

Funding

Find fundraising tips, Historic England's grant schemes and other funding sources.

Place-Making Advice

Resources for Place-Making and Regeneration
Advice and research on how to shape our public spaces and buildings to improve a community’s cultural, economic, social and environmental situation.
Design in the Historic Environment
Principles and case studies for good practice in design when making changes to the built historic environment.
Support for Place-Making and Design
How Historic England supports the processes used to shape our public spaces and buildings.
Historic Centres and Streets
Our advice on retail trends and what they might mean for historic town centres and high streets.
Local Plans
See our advice on drawing up Local Plans that make provision for historic buildings and sites in their area.
Conservation Areas
This page sets out what conservation areas are and how they are designated and managed.
Heritage Champions
Support and advice for those with a prominent role in local issues that concern the historic environment.
Enhanced Advisory Services
4 services providing enhancements to Historic England's existing free planning and listing services.

Community Engagement

Learn from communities and build local support for your regeneration scheme.

Involving Local Communities
Explore how to involve communities in regeneration projects and the many benefits community engagement delivers.
High Street Events Toolkit
Download a toolkit to guide you through what's needed to put an event on in your high street.
Community Advice Hub
Information for groups and communities to find out more about your historic place and look after heritage.
Community Engagement in High Streets Projects Webinar
Recording and transcript for a previous webinar on community engagement in historic high streets projects, first recorded 25 November 2020
Education
Find out about our inspiring education and work experience resources for pupils and teachers to learn about their local and national heritage.
Inclusive Heritage Advice Hub
Guidance for organisations wishing to ensure that their work is as diverse and inclusive as possible.

Training and Knowledge Sharing

A steep learning curve awaits anyone joining a regeneration project for the first time. Upskill yourself, your team and partners and connect with peers to share knowledge and valuable experience.

Heritage in Planning: Essentials
An e-learning programme that explores the key elements that govern how we understand, protect and manage heritage.
Historic Environment Management Webinars
Register to join upcoming webinars on heritage management topics.
Reinstating Historic Shopfronts Webinar
A free recording and transcript for a webinar on Reinstating Historic Shopfronts With Grant Aid, originally recorded on 18 November 2020.
Open High Streets Webinar Series
Heritage Trust Network series of events to engage with and upskill those interested in transforming high streets through the restoration and re-use of historic buildings.
Peer Learning Videos from Better Places Partnership
The Better Places Partnership gives local authorities and groups the opportunity to share ideas and learnings. Speaker sessions from peer learning events are recorded.
Online Groups
Find out about online groups for keeping your knowledge and skills up to date.

Research and Heritage Data

Draw from our body of research on the impacts of heritage led regeneration to support your funding bids and inform your programme. Explore heritage datasets to plan and deliver your projects.

Heritage Counts
Useful evidence for heritage’s impact on the economy, society and the environment.
Research Reports
Find research reports on specific buildings or sites and commissioned research, or search for place-based research with our map.
Search the List
Search the only official list of protected historic sites. Use our map search to see which buildings or sites in your area are protected.
Heritage at Risk
Find out which historic sites in England are currently at risk. Use our interactive map view to explore your local area.
Open Data
Here you can find GIS datasets available to download from the National Heritage List for England (NHLE).
Strategic Stone Database
Search the database using an interactive map to find stone buildings and quarries near you and download a building stone atlas of your area.
Find Photos
Search over 1.6 million photographs and drawings held in the Historic England Archive.
Aerial Photo Explorer
Explore England's changing landscapes through historic aerial photography, showcasing the growth and transformations of urban and rural areas.
Historic Places Panel
Find the Panel’s reflections on a diverse range of historic places, the issues faced by those places, ideas on strategies to tackle them, and examples of good practice.

Case studies

High Street Regeneration Examples
Explore a variety of approaches to heritage led regeneration, tried and tested by our partners during the High Street Heritage Action Zones programme.
Impact of Heritage Action Zones
Find examples of how Heritage Action Zones have created conditions for economic growth and improved the quality of life in villages, towns, and cities.
Streets for All
Includes case studies showing where highways works and other public realm schemes have successfully integrated with and enhanced areas of historic or architectural sensitivity.
Wellbeing and Heritage Case Studies
A selection of case studies showing how heritage can improve wellbeing.
Successful Regeneration of Textile Mills in the North
Read about inspiring mill conversions in the north of England.
Design in the Historic Environment
This best practice advice for design in the historic environment concludes with a set of inspiring case studies.
Sustainable Growth
Case studies that emphasise the balance between conserving historic character and accommodating changes that can ensure continued use of historic buildings.