Our surroundings matter. The historic environment is part of successful regeneration because it contributes to:

• Investment: Historic places attract companies to locate, people to live, businesses to invest and tourists to visit. Market values in historic areas are higher than elsewhere.
• Sense of place: People enjoy living in historic places. There is often greater community cohesion.
• Sustainability: Re-use of historic buildings minimises the exploitation of resources. There is evidence of lower maintenance costs for older houses.
• Quality of life: The historic environment contributes to quality of life and enriches people’s understanding of the diversity and changing nature of their community.

Understanding how places change, what makes them distinctive and the significance of their history is the key to regeneration.

Local authorities play the central part in the management of the historic environment and it is essential that they have the resources and processes in place to carry out their role effectively. More information on the role of Local Authority Historic Environment Services is available on this website.

Further information is available, including the recent English Heritage publication Regeneration and the Historic Environment: Heritage as a catalyst for better social and economic regeneration (2005).