Dame Caroline Dinenage has Chaired and published a report urging the Government to look to the country’s built heritage to meet new homes target and has railed against rules which incentivise the managed decline of the defence and prison estate.

Nearly half of the government’s 1.5million home building target could be met by giving a new lease of life to historic buildings currently lying vacant or under-used, MPs say today.

The Culture, Media, and Sport Committee, Chaired by Dame Caroline Dinenage, Member of Parliament for Gosport, has published its report into Protecting Built Heritage, concluding an inquiry that has been ongoing since December 2024.

Caroline launched the inquiry in response to the dual challenges of lack of housing supply, and deteriorating defence estate assets faced in Gosport. The report explicitly notes that MPs “heard clear examples of the challenges associated with public ownership of heritage assets, particularly where large parts of the estate remained under the control of central government. The borough of Gosport contains a significant concentration of former MOD sites, including historic fortifications such as Fort Blockhouse, Fort Rowner (which lies within the grounds of HMS Sultan) and other complex brownfield sites, which are underused or vacant and, in some cases, have fallen into disrepair.”

The report estimates that 670,000 new homes could be created by breathing new life into old buildings, learning from approaches such as Italy’s €1 homes scheme, and follows a more than 18-month long inquiry which uncovered how listed buildings, churches, old factories and monuments up and down the country are under significant and increasing strain from cost pressures, workforce shortages and a planning system that is complex and inconsistent.

Highlighting a major missed opportunity for heritage to contribute to the local and national economy, the committee calls 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.

In addition to making the case for reforms to the planning process and launching a ‘heritage-to-housing’ scheme, the report outlines recommendations related to improving financial support for old properties and tackling skills shortages in the heritage workforce.

It warns that the current VAT regime is discouraging repairs and reuse by making it more expensive that new construction and calls for targeted relief for maintenance and conversion. Funding for repairs to churches and other places of worship should also be maintained, the committee adds.

There also needs to be a new commitment to promoting careers and boosting skills in the heritage sector, the report says, amid a warning that shortages in the workforce pose one of the most serious risks to the long-term protection of the UK’s built heritage.

Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, Chair of the Culture, Media, and Sport Committee, said: “Old buildings and other pieces of our past play a vital economic, social and cultural role in our communities, but the sight of leaking roofs, crumbling brickwork and vacant premises illustrates how the current policy approach to heritage is failing miserably to support either its protection or potential.

“Historic England says that there is potential to create a whopping 670,000 new homes and yet the government’s approach reveals a deep complacency, is devoid of ambition, and shows a complete lack of imagination.

“We heard compelling evidence that the best way of protecting a building is for it to be occupied, used, lived in and loved. Other countries with a similarly rich heritage have shown what can be achieved by thinking outside the box. ‘Reuse first’ should be the guiding principle, with a heritage to housing scheme offering a clear win-win by preserving our historic buildings and helping to meet the pressing need for new homes.

“Ministers also need to ensure adequate funding that incentivises repairs and renewal over construction, and meet head on the serious risk to heritage posed by the lack of skills and workforce in the sector.

“All the time that the government allows our historic environment to continue to deteriorate, we risk losing out on not just links to our past but on opportunities for economic growth and regeneration in our communities.

“It also shouldn’t be right that private owners face significant obligations to protect historic buildings, while government departments are able to allow heritage assets to rot at public expense.”

“The report aims to alter the current status quo for heritage buildings where “despite their clear value, many heritage assets are at risk of neglect or managed decline, where a lack of sustained investment has led to “roofs leaking”, long-term deterioration of historic fabric and, in some cases, buildings being left to ruin altogether as regulatory and financial pressures mount.”

The Committee will now wait for the Government to formally respond to its recommendations, which include:

Unlocking the potential of built heritage

• The deterioration of heritage assets represents a major missed opportunity. Their significant potential to support economic growth and tourism is being systematically constrained by a combination of financial, structural and policy pressures. The government must take sustained action to prioritise active use and remove the structural barriers that continue to hold the sector back.
• Heritage-led housing is no longer a niche or peripheral opportunity, but a major and under-recognised means of addressing the country’s acute housing shortage. Historic England’s estimate that up to 670,000 homes could be delivered through the reuse of vacant or under-used heritage buildings is equivalent to almost half of the government’s current housebuilding target. However, the government is failing to prioritise the reuse of heritage buildings in a way that will enable its huge potential to be fulfilled.
• The government introduce a ‘heritage-to-housing’ scheme to bring vacant and at-risk historic buildings back into residential use. The scheme should draw on lessons from other countries such as Italy’s €1 house initiatives and renovation tax incentives, but be adapted to UK conditions. It should combine discounted transfer or leasing of heritage assets with time-limited restoration requirements, financial support for renovation and strong safeguards to ensure long-term occupation and smooth bureaucratic processes.
• The government adopt a reuse-first approach to housing policy, prioritising the conversion of vacant and under-used heritage buildings before pursuing new build.

Financial support for built heritage

• The current funding landscape for built heritage is fragmented, short-term and does not adequately support the long-term nature of conservation. The committee recommends that the government sets out a clear, cohesive and long-term strategy for funding built heritage.
• The government must ensure that overall funding available through the Places of Worship Renewal Fund is at least as generous in real terms as the level of support provided through the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme prior to its reductions in budget and the introduction of per-site caps, to prevent any reduction in the number and scale of essential repair projects.
• The current VAT regime creates a structural disincentive to repair, maintain and reuse historic buildings. The government should introduce targeted VAT relief for maintenance and conversion of listed heritage buildings.

The public heritage estate

• Publicly owned heritage assets are too often allowed to deteriorate, with responsibility spread across departments, weak compliance with existing protocols and no effective mechanism to enforce minimum standards. The government must lead by example by ensuring that the buildings it owns and is responsible for are properly maintained, actively managed and, where appropriate, brought back into beneficial use.

Workforce and skills

• Workforce and skills shortages now pose one of the most serious risks to the long-term protection of the UK’s built heritage. An ageing workforce, limited training routes, insecure funding and declining local authority expertise are combining to create a fragile skills pipeline that is unable to meet current demand.
• The government should work with Skills England, Historic England and sector bodies to create protected training pathways for endangered heritage crafts and establish a ‘heritage skills hub’ to promote careers in the heritage sector.

The planning system

• While the government’s proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework are welcome, they must go further to address the persistent delays, inconsistency and administrative burden experienced by developers, owners and community organisations.