Re-purposing the satanic mills
Real Estate advisers Cushman and Wakefield has produced two viability reports for re-purposing the historic mills of West Yorkshire and Lancashire. Partner Stephen Miles came to discuss the reports strategies for this at Future Cities Forum, Burlington House, London.
His team has been commissioned by Historic England to assess the potential uses for residential, business, cultural and leisure. This is to interest a new generation of developers, investors and occupiers who will be able to see the value of re-invigorating these icons of the Victorian industrial age.
Chief Executive of Historic England, Duncan Wilson, who was also speaking at the forum said that the next five years promises to be a period of rapid change and development...bringing historic places that have been neglected or unused back to life...and this needs to be a central aim in place-making.
The consulting firm Atkins also joined the panel debate on heritage, stating that just because a building is old does not mean it should be preserved. Technical Director (Heritage) Andrew Croft described the vast number of mills still standing and said tough decisions should be made over which ones should survive.
Watch Historica England's video: