Even before the pandemic, more people were shopping online and fewer were visiting the high street. Over the last year this trend has accelerated, compounded by the fact that fewer people are commuting into town-centre offices and spending money while they’re there. With the high street in trouble, major chains such as Debenhams have collapsed leaving large empty spaces in town centres across the country. Now the question is: “How do we as a society respond to this?”

In a time of climate crisis…it’s time to reuse what we already have

As built environment professionals, in a time of climate crisis we are all too aware of the carbon impact of construction. So, our starting point is to ask how we can reuse what we already have, how town-centre buildings can be adapted for new purposes. This is the approach advocated by the London Energy Transition Initiative (LETI). It enables you to get additional design life from a building for a fraction of the carbon emissions involved in demolishing it and starting again.

But what should empty retail space be transformed into? Housing, leisure, office, hospitality and even education are all potential uses because we need to attract people back to town centres – not just to shop but to live, work and play. With skilful design guided by appropriate quality and space standards you can deliver the 15-minute town concept where everything residents need – employment, leisure, green space and more – is within a quarter of an hour’s travel on foot.

Sometimes buildings we perceive to be part of the problem can become part of the solution

Whatever happens, we mustn’t repeat the mistakes of the 1960s and 70s: blocking key pedestrian routes and sight lines with buildings in the wrong places; filling public spaces with vehicles; constructing ring roads that choke the life out of a town. However, sometimes buildings we perceive to be part of the problem can become part of the solution. Many towns have a 1960s or 70s brutalist office block or retail mall, and these often have surprising potential to be retrofitted for a new lease of life.

WSP’s planning consultancy has been involved in repurposing the old Bristol United Press Building, now known as One Temple Way, into a mixed-use development. Working with AHMM architects and our client Bankfoot Group (on a site owned by the Harmsworth Property Pension Fund), the proposal includes transforming the faceless sides of the building to include windows and doors. By adding glazed areas and new entrances, we are able to bring new life to the building to make it appear friendlier, more inviting and ultimately generate more use. The transformation includes a positive visual interplay between the building’s interior and new public spaces, including a new ‘pocket park’ that reconnects pedestrian desire lines. 

Rejuvenating buildings so that they can serve their local communities better can help restore an area by bringing people back to the heart of a buildings use. We have seen this with our experience on a recent shopping centre. The original structure had evolved from a number of existing buildings, was connected to streets on different levels whilst being constrained by a historic railway tunnel. Working with the Architect and the client, WSP structural engineers surveyed the building and through careful analysis and space planning, managed to integrate an additional floor to the scheme (which enhanced project viability) whilst also retaining and reusing a significant proportion of the existing frame compared to the original layouts. The analysis and design work undertaken, dramatically reduced party wall challenges and risks whilst saving considerable money and embodied carbon.

A building’s history can become a unique selling point 

A building’s history can become a unique selling point. Managing our built heritage is a dynamic, positive and creative process: it’s not just about protecting historic buildings but also breathing new life into them and enhancing their significance through a sympathetic new development. In Stockport, we’ve worked with Investar on the Royal George Village, next to the grade II* listed Town Hall, securing planning permission for 442 new homes as part of its £90 million redevelopment of a surplus part of the Stockport College campus, transforming it into an urban village. The project incorporates listed buildings, which will be re-purposed for flexible office space, and 1970s college buildings are to be retrofitted for residential use. An area that previously turned its shoulder to the splendid Town Hall, and restricted pedestrian movement, will become a welcoming and accessible urban quarter with a unique sense of place that compliments Stockport’s heritage and civic identity.

Developments like this succeed when they are part of a masterplan that considers the wider picture, and when the local community support the vision. It is also crucial to have the right technical team in place to ensure delivery. 

The surroundings of a building are just as important as the building itself

A building’s value is enhanced (or reduced) by the quality of its surroundings. So, a masterplan with a vision for a balanced community and a sense of place, in which people choose to live, work, and spend leisure time in, makes all the buildings within it more valuable.  A commercial building fronting a vibrant public square has added value and offers its workers an enhanced quality of life, and a housing development is worth more to families if it is part of a masterplan that provides access to nurseries, schools, and a range of facilities within walking distance. People also value green space and the effect it has on their wellbeing, so this too increases the value of surrounding buildings. 

A properly considered masterplan will enhance the setting of individual sites, stitch back together damaged areas of a town, and maximise pedestrian access to a range of services.   

The Union Mill development in Wolverhampton, for which we’ve just secured planning permission for our client Place First, is another good example. The scheme will transform an area of contaminated land into a vibrant Canalside Quarter. New buildings in the scheme draw design inspiration from the area’s industrial heritage and the layout will provide better pedestrian access to the canal network and the city’s railway station.  Derelict listed buildings are to be converted for residential use, bringing life and activity to the heart of Wolverhampton. The development provides a mix of homes for people at different life-stages, and may appeal to civil servants relocating from London with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. 

Could we see more of this sort of redevelopment where refurbished buildings and revitalised public spaces transform areas that attract people back into our towns and cities? Increasingly, we are seeing pension funds and investors – driven by environmental, social and corporate governance – invest in well-designed, well-balanced developments. These mixed-use developments require all stakeholders to collaborate in order for our towns and cities to become 24/7 destinations which in turn enhances natural surveillance and security whilst enhancing valuation resilience in response to future demands.