New Residential Use for Empty 19th Century Building in Brierley Hill
Saving a neglected 19th century terraced building from further deterioration, the Brierley Hill High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) scheme funded and commissioned repairs to the building's exterior and found a new owner and use for 68 High Street, Brierley Hill. The new owner has since developed the interior to residential use.
The ambition
68 High Street is a 3-storey, late 19th century terraced building in the Brierley Hill High Street Conservation Area. Along with 70 High Street (former Marsh and Baxter Butchers) and the Post Office, it forms a cluster of 'original' buildings in this part of the conservation area.
The building is a familiar landmark, previously used by the local community as a bank and a solicitors over the course of more than 100 years. Anecdotal oral histories place a doctor's surgery on the upper floor in the 1930s.
Having been vacant for many years it was in a poor state of repair with collapsed roof areas and an outbreak of dry rot. It had a uninterested absentee owner (based in Florida).
The building was in need of comprehensive repair and to be brought back into a viable use.
The project set out to repair the external shell of the building and to find a viable scheme to bring the vacant floor space back into use. The council used enforcement powers to trigger the sale of the building by the absentee landlord and promoted its potential to prospective purchasers, who subsequently became the new owners.
Who made it happen
- Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (MBC), lead partner of the HSHAZ
- Hayley and Paul Andrews, the new owners
- Brownhill Hayward and Brown, architect overseeing the works
- Concept 509 Ltd, and HP and Son Construction and Restoration, the contractors
The HSHAZ was a partnership scheme led by Dudley MBC and supported by Historic England. The work was carried out between 2022 and 2023.
The case study details on this page were supplied by Dudley MBC.
Funding sources
- Phase 1 (repairs of the external shell) total contract value £360,110
- £235,872 HSHAZ grant funding, of which Historic England provided £191,056
- £121,238 match funding by the property owner
- Phase 2 (internal conversion) the property owner funded the entire contract value of £320,000
The results
The exterior of the building was fully repaired and architectural features reinstated thanks to the funding through the Brierley Hill High Street Heritage Action Zone (HAZ). With HAZ funding helping to pay for the exterior, the new owner of the property was able to re-finance the property to raise the funds to pay for the conversion works inside. The property has now been converted, creating new residential units.
Community engagement
A leaflet about the history of the property was published as part of the Brierley Hill HSHAZ Community Engagement Activities programme.
The building is listed in 2 self-guided heritage trails:
Lessons learnt
- Be prepared to use statutory planning powers where necessary. At the start of the programme 68 High Street was owned by a disinterested, absentee owner. After the owner did not take up a grant offer to complete required repairs, Dudley MBC used the potential of its enforcement powers which triggered the owner putting the property on the market.
- 'Matchmake' heritage assets to prospective new owners with a good track record of delivery. Dudley MBC brought 68 High Street to the attention of the current owner which meant that it’s conservation repairs could be delivered as part of the High Street Heritage Action Zone programme.
- Do full condition surveys before beginning. It is a false economy not to fully understand the issues before you begin.
Looking ahead
The owners of the property have joined the West Midlands Historic Buildings Trust (WMHBT) as trustees and are actively involved with Heritage Open Days and the development of more heritage building projects.
Also of interest
