Heritage led coastal regeneration – a route to unlock investment

When used well, these assets can shift perception, attract people and create opportunities for inward investment. For councils, developers and investors, the question is simple. How do you use heritage assets in a way that works commercially and delivers long-term community value?

Heritage assets: risk or opportunity?

Piers, pavilions, lidos, harbours and historic town centres once drove Britain’s seaside economy. In many towns, years of underinvestment mean these places now feel tired or overlooked reinforcing negative perceptions.

From an investment perspective, heritage assets can present a number of challenges. The cost and risk associated with developing assets that have listed status, conservation controls and other practical restrictions, combined with a physical asset that is frequently in a poor state of repair and condition add uncertainty around what can be delivered, how long planning will take and whether schemes are viable. Additionally, heritage assets often have a disproportionate hold on the perception of communities, with a "do not touch" starting point. In coastal areas, these risks are often compounded by flood risk, concerns over coastal erosion and infrastructure constraints.

However, with the right approach, heritage does not have to be a blocker to progress and where public realm and heritage assets are proactively restored, repurposed and brought back into use, they can become key drivers and intrinsic elements to regeneration projects.

Improvements to appearance, accessibility and utility can change how places are perceived and used, increasing footfall, occupancy, and commercial demand. When delivered well, this creates stronger fundamentals from which to leverage private investment.

Why heritage led regeneration can work commercially

Heritage led regeneration looks beyond the repair of individual buildings as ‘museum pieces.’ It focuses on how historic assets and public spaces can be integrated within and adapted to support wider economic and social outcomes, such as food and drink uses, businesses, cultural venues, for education and skills and wider mixed use schemes.

This approach can help address common viability challenges by:

• creating diversified income streams rather than reliance on a single use,
• increasing dwell time and footfall through placemaking, and
• aligning conservation outcomes with economic activity and planning policy.

Crucially, it allows places to retain their character while evolving to meet modern demand, an increasingly important factor for investors seeking differentiated, resilient assets. 

The planning and regulatory context

Heritage led regeneration is a key part of the UK planning and statutory framework. Under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, local planning authorities must give special regard to the desirability of preserving or enhancing heritage assets when determining planning applications and the National Planning Policy Framework (for both local plan making and in determining planning applications) identifies them as an 'irreplaceable resource" that "should be conserved in a manner appropriate to their significance" for future generations.

In practice, this places greater emphasis on:

• the quality and adaptability of proposals,
• clear, viable long-term uses, and
• evidence of public, economic and placemaking benefit.

For developers and investors, this means proposals involving heritage assets need a strong narrative, early engagement with planning and conservation officers, and robust justification for how change supports both conservation and sustainable development objectives.

Heritage-led regeneration in practice

The following examples show how these principles are playing out across very different coastal contexts, with very different "heritage assets" at their heart, demonstrating the breadth of opportunity that a heritage-led approach can unlock.

In Folkestone, the regeneration of the Old Town into the Folkestone Creative Quarter involved acquiring and refurbishing run-down historic buildings and placing them into long-term stewardship through Creative Folkestone. This approach provided clarity and certainty around use, management, and maintenance, reducing risk for occupiers and investors. The result was a distinctive cultural quarter attracting artists, creative businesses, retailers, and visitors — repositioning Folkestone as a destination of choice and creating a platform for continued investment in infrastructure, public realm, and green space.

The creation of the Plymouth Sound National Marine Park, the UK's first such designated park, is reinforcing links with the city's marine heritage and integrating it within the physical fabric of the city and its surroundings. Restoration of the city's marine heritage assets are at the heart of the project, with an estimated 464 jobs created alongside improved and more accessible community facilities and a marine health and wellbeing hub.

What unites these places is a shared recognition that heritage, sensitively integrated into a long-term regeneration strategy, can do what conventional development incentives often cannot — create a sense of place that draws people, businesses, and long-term investment in, and keeps them there.

Key legal considerations 

• Set a clear vision for how heritage assets are integrated within and support wider regeneration aims.
• Reduce uncertainty through early consultation, a clear plan and engagement with stakeholders.
• Manage historic constraints such as listed status, conservation areas, and statutory duties, which all shape what is acceptable, achievable and viable.
• Build in planning risk and timescales with heritage schemes often requiring more detailed evidence and longer lead in periods.
• Demonstrate viability and adaptability of historic assets and how they can support long term uses to securing consent and funding.
• Show public benefit by being clear how it will deliver economic, social and placemaking benefits.
• Package assets strategically by combining public realm, heritage buildings, and commercial uses where feasible.
• Align strategy with planning and sustainability objectives to attract private capital with confidence.

Heritage assets bring complexity and risk, but they also bring opportunity. When approached strategically, heritage led regeneration allows local authorities to deliver sustainable development and preserve local character, while creating schemes that benefit communities and are attractive to developers and investors.

For coastal towns seeking to unlock long term regeneration benefits, heritage is not just something to protect. It can be the catalyst that builds confidence, drives momentum, and attracts wider private investment and development.

For further information or to discuss regeneration projects, please contact our regeneration team.