Historic England Co-CEO to contribute to 'Cultural Cities' forum this May

Image: Emma Squire - courtesy of Historic England

Future Cities Forum is delighted that Emma Squire, CBE, Co-CEO at Historic England (job share with Claudia Kenyatta CBE) will join our 'Cultural cities' event, hosted by the Tower of London this May.

Emma first joined Historic England in 2023 to job-share with Claudia Kenyatta as Director of Regions.

Previously Director of Arts, Heritage and Tourism at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Emma sponsored organisations from Arts Council England and VisitBritain to national museums and charities.

Emma led for Government on the £1.59bn Covid pandemic Culture Recovery Fund supporting over 5,000 cultural organisations, and on programmes from the UK City of Culture competition to the Cultural Development Fund.  

She chairs the board of Bridport Museum in Dorset and is a member of the Mayor of London's Cultural Leadership Board.   

Historic England has recently launched 'Heritage Works for Creative Businesses', a new publication which will help developers to transform empty and underused historic buildings into thriving creative industry hubs.

Around a quarter of all UK creative businesses already operate from heritage conservation areas, with listed buildings attracting significantly more creative firms than modern alternatives.

Creative industries contribute over £125 billion to the UK economy each year – more than 5% of GDP – and employ approximately 2.4 million people.

These sectors, which include design, technology, media and advertising are a cornerstone of Britain's soft power, influencing international trade, tourism investment and cultural diplomacy.

Historic buildings offer creative businesses character, flexible spaces and distinctive environments. Former industrial sites like Birmingham's Custard Factory and Halifax's Dean Clough have been successfully transformed into vibrant creative ecosystems where artists, designers and engineers collaborate and innovate.

Image: Dean Clough Halifax looking from North Bridge - courtesy Dean Clough

Heritage Works for Creative Businesses addresses common challenges developers face when converting heritage buildings, including planning requirements, repair costs and financing difficulties. Historic England's expertise helps de-risk projects by providing certainty around budgets and timeframes whilst preserving the buildings' historic character.

Examples of successful conversions include Rutland Mills in Wakefield (now Tileyard North), a creative hub with state-of-the-art recording studios, and Hastings' Observer Building, which reopened as modern office space for creative professionals. These projects demonstrate how heritage regeneration creates local employment opportunities whilst instilling community pride.

Historic England's step-by-step guidance covers everything from initial feasibility studies through to securing funding and managing construction. The organisation provides ongoing support to help developers navigate the entire conversion process successfully.

Heritage Works for Creative Businesses is aimed at many types of developers, including commercial property companies, charitable trusts, individual entrepreneurs, and local authorities seeking to revitalise their historic building stock.

Heritage has a vital role to play in our economic growth. This programme shows what an opportunity our empty or underused heritage buildings present and helps businesses get certainty on planning requirements and cost planning to help transform them.Our historic buildings, up and down the country, are filled with character and are the perfect places to spark creative inspiration. I’m pleased to see this link between heritage and the creative industries growing ever stronger.

Heritage Minister Baroness Twycross