News Round Up #5

A fortnightly look at headlines from the world of adaptive reuse. SUBSCRIBE for a monthly newsletter to your inbox.

1. UK News

• Protecting Built Heritage & Derelict Buildings Fund

  • The Government response to the DCMS Committee's report on protecting built heritage has been published - Protecting built heritage: Government response

  • The Derelict Buildings Fund (DBF) has been announced and will provide £125 million to 60 local authorities to bring prominent long term vacant or derelict buildings back into productive community or commercial use. Allocations range from £1 million to £3 million and comprise capital and revenue funding.

• Historic England Releases its Heritage at Risk Register 2026

  • The latest Heritage at Risk Register for 2026 has been released with 85 places have been saved and their futures secured, while 197 have been added.

• Online Talk: The Future of Heritage: Victoria Baths, Manchester

  • Co-hosted by Historic Buildings & Places and Heritage Network, this talk explores how Victoria Baths in Manchester is reinventing its future, transforming a remarkable historic building into a thriving venue for events, creativity and community life.

• UK Heritage Map

  • You can now explore every listed site across the four nations — almost 500,000 of them, from Historic England, Historic Environment Scotland, Cadw and Northern Ireland's Department for Communities.

• Historic Rail Estate on the move

  • A plan to transfer responsibility for the UK’s Historical Railways Estate (HRE) from National Highways and the Department for Transport (DfT) to Great British Railways (GBR) has won support in the House of Lords. The move will transfer over 3,000 legacy structures, some of which could be viable for ReWeave.

• The Leap - Bradford Community Led Heritage

  • The Bradford Community Led Heritage Programme, funded by The National Heritage Lottery Fund, supports organisations across Bradford District to explore, protect, celebrate and share the heritage that matters to them. Focusing on communities traditionally underrepresented in heritage leadership and participation, the programme empowers local people to take ownership of their stories and build skills and confidence.

2. Global News

• National Cost-Sharing Program For Heritage Places in Canada

  • The National Cost-Sharing Program for Heritage Places is open to owners and eligible lessees of national historic sites, heritage lighthouses and heritage railway stations. The Program continues to support the Parks Canada Agency's mandate of protecting and presenting places of national historic significance, and fostering the public's understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of these places in ways that ensure their commemorative integrity for present and future generations.

• Is Higher Education Ready to Take Historic Preservation’s Red Pill?

  • Interesting article exploring the links between historic preservation academia and applications and relevance in real world scenarios.

3. Additions to the Inspiration Map

• Victoria Baths, Manchester UK

  • A public baths built in 1906 that has been brought back to life by the community following neglect and closure in the 90s.

• Brentford Beeline, UK

  • Community led project to provide access and benefit from a new greenspace developed on a former railway embankment.

News items to submit? Please pop me a line.