"Like with a lot of the city centre in Bradford there are buildings that aren't being used and we want to see this place flourish." > Special place is Little Germany; glad @archhfund.org.uk able to assist the plans here. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

🔎🏚 #HeritageDevelopmentTrusts Spotlight – Haverfordwest Heritage. @haverfordwestheritage.org.uk aims to revive key neglected heritage buildings in Haverfordwest & bring them back into use for community benefit, creating a better place to live, work, learn & visit. Read more: 👉 bit.ly/3LDmasr

Great @archhfund.org.uk event @buildingcentre.bsky.social last night, featuring excellent research insights from @bennettinstitute.cam.ac.uk & @anooshc.bsky.social in conversation with a host of top projects. Emphasised once again the importance of heritage assets as vital social infrastructure.

Ancient buildings and old bones aren’t getting in the way of the transition. www.wired.com/story/let-th...

Off to London for an @archhfund.org.uk event. Some particularly relevant reading for the train: www.cambridge.org/core/element...

High levels of #Suffolk pleasantness out on the bike 🚲 this afternoon.

NEW: The End of the Line: the centrepiece of Saudi Arabia’s Neom gigaproject - a 500m tall, 170km long wall-like building intended ultimately to house 9 million people - can’t get out of the ground, say more than 20 former Neom architects, engineers and senior executives. ig.ft.com/saudi-neom-l...

"With these additions, seven grassroots music venues across the country are now permanently protected for further generations and it proves the power of community ownership." > more great work from Music Venue Properties👌 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

'The Sheerness Dockyard Church shows that when heritage, design and community ambition come together, the results can be transformative, for both architecture and society.' @news.architectsjournal.co.uk @archhfund.org.uk www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/opinion...

'The Sheerness Dockyard Church shows that when heritage, design and community ambition come together, the results can be transformative, for both architecture and society.' @news.architectsjournal.co.uk @archhfund.org.uk www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/opinion...

I suppose we don't have enough betting shops so giving over our limited public space (in this case KX) to pop up versions seems like a great idea 👍

Good news for owners of pre-1919 buildings: the latest EPC assessment system better recognises energy-saving features like shutters, draught-proofing & secondary glazing 🏛️ Dr Moses Jenkins at Historic Environment Scotland explains the RdSAP 10.2 changes:

"I’ve come to feel that, in our atomised era, sport is a relatively healthy obsession." > strong agree with @simonkuper.bsky.social on this. www.ft.com/content/f41c...

Local GP's getting into the Halloween spirit by trying to make the surgery hotter than hell.

Index of Multiple Deprivation shows highly deprived areas are concentrated in the North of England www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

"Millions of people need homes. That’s not up for debate. But confusing need with demand has caused a massive policy failure." 🎯 v good piece.

It is barmy that we think this is the best use of prime land. Bury St Eds has a great market, lots of really good foodie places - am sure it could be put to better use!

Hugh Broughton church restoration wins RIBA Reinvention Award 2025

Coincidence or not, that’s pretty crazy. (via MS desk) @dkthomp.bsky.social

First time in Oswestry. Nice to see the Grade 1 former merchant's house, Llwyd Mansion, undergoing repair and adaptation for a mix of new uses. It was bought by the town council after it had fallen into disrepair.

Finally got to see around the Grade II* Keelman's Hospital in Newcastle. Fantastic project led by @twbpt.bsky.social to bring it back into use as affordable housing after 15 years of being vacant. @archhfund.org.uk

'Each project built on the momentum of the last, layering confidence and investment in a town that had long been written off.' > this is an inspiring story about #Redruth's regeneration and the community-led projects that have helped drive it. ahfund.org.uk/news/blog/re...

This arrived from 1945: On building a new generation of community centres - featuring Impington Village College, Cambs. Written by Major Richard Bennett. There’s some ***really important*** social history context in this 16p document 1/2 —>

'Each project built on the momentum of the last, layering confidence and investment in a town that had long been written off.' > this is an inspiring story about #Redruth's regeneration and the community-led projects that have helped drive it. ahfund.org.uk/news/blog/re...

Knock-out project; glad we could help. @archhfund.org.uk

"The close has changed considerably in the two hundred years since Constable’s era..." > Well, quite. Seems an entirely reasonable plan to me. www.thetimes.com/uk/history/a...

“The thing you have to do is something AI could never replicate..." > Nice piece. Some fairly niche jobs here, and most won't make you rich, but demand for many of the trades is there. www.ft.com/content/1665...

Maybe I am out of touch with what people want to see on their high street, but suspect this might not result in a lot of community campaigns to Save the Betting Shop.

Finally got to see around the Grade II* Keelman's Hospital in Newcastle. Fantastic project led by @twbpt.bsky.social to bring it back into use as affordable housing after 15 years of being vacant. @archhfund.org.uk

New figures from Shelter show that the number of children homeless or in temporary accommodation in England has reached its highest level since records began. 172,420 kids without a permanent home of their own- an 8% increase in a single year.

We're pleased to share that, from spring 2026, we will take on the care and management of the museums, buildings and monuments that represent the birthplace of the industrial revolution within the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site in Shropshire.

Visit to Port Edgar yesterday to see the work of Lar Housing Trust bringing the former barracks back into use for housing. Views aren't too bad.

Leith (no sunshine on)

'...football stadiums do have an otherworldly aura, as modern colossi looming above huddled neighbourhoods...' > although a lot of sheds plonked in retail parks these days. Definitely worth a trip to RIBA North to see this though! www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

This was a great pub so good to see this. londontheinside.com/artist-peter...

Much to agree with in this piece on the Pride in Place programme @alwalker.bsky.social, on why it matters and where the questions still are.

Up in York today for a meeting and was very lucky to be able to have a look around the new York Minster Centre of Excellence for Craft Skills. Fascinating how new technology is being incorporated into centuries old skills and processes.

🔔 Funding announcement - a new life ahead for the Old Store! We have awarded a grant to Redruth Revival CIC, one of our #HeritageDevelopmentTrusts, to support plans to repurpose the Old Market Store on Fair Meadow in Redruth as a new community-facing cycle hub. Learn more: ➡️ bit.ly/4pZJ2SB

'Arguments that adaptive reuse might stymie architectural freedom are dispelled by the sameness of most contemporary urban redevelopment.' > 💯 spot on by @edwinheathcote.bsky.social. To his highlights of reuse schemes, I'd add the hundreds of community-led ones in the UK. www.ft.com/content/0ae2...

What do we do with our former department stores? Well, Age Concern Southend has one answer that seems to be working. Heard some lovely stories tonight of the impact The Haven has had (4000 visitors a month!) & the wider benefit it's had on the high street. Inspirational stuff. @archhfund.org.uk

What do we do with our former department stores? Well, Age Concern Southend has one answer that seems to be working. Heard some lovely stories tonight of the impact The Haven has had (4000 visitors a month!) & the wider benefit it's had on the high street. Inspirational stuff. @archhfund.org.uk

C2C is a train company I rarely use. But it is another one of our great lines that must consider plugs, tables and bins to be something you must only get on the Orient Express.

"In the best examples of community regeneration I’ve seen, the work of renovation itself is one of the main ways social capital is restored." > Good piece this on Pride in Place.

On Monday morning 10.30 we'll be having a timely discussion given the the Pride in Place announcements - discussing how heritage can play a role in community revival with @nationaltrust.org.uk @archhfund.org.uk

Agree with this. There's a much more positive narrative that could be developed about all the good things that are happening in towns deemed 'left behind' or whatever. We should talk about the Piece Hall or the Peaks just as much as the problems.

“[This] announcement makes clear that investment in the public realm and high streets is back as a political priority..." > really good that it is, but will be absolutely key that it can support community-led schemes www.theguardian.com/politics/202....

Reuse and brownfield sites have to be part of the approach - but it's not a binary choice. And a big brownfield site here in Cambridge just got cancelled because it's too expensive www.bbc.co.uk/news/article....

Great news - two #AHFsupported projects have been shortlisted for the 2025 SURF Awards. 🎉 A big congratulations to: - The Y Centre Perth, shortlisted for Housing and Regeneration. - No 30 The Square Huntly, shortlisted for Community Led Regeneration. surf.scot/2025-surf-aw...

Let's make our public realm worse again

Murray Edwards College, Chamberlin, Powell and Bon (of Barbican fame). The buildings, the light, the water, the gardens, the art collection...all superb. And one of the few Cambridge colleges you can easily access!