Military heritage conservation and regeneration: a categorisation approach to identify the most challenging military heritage typologies in the UK

Military heritage sites hold outstanding historical, cultural, and architectural values, making them valuable assets for the place and its communities. The transformation of these sites into vibrant places connects communities to this heritage, improves public benefits, and contributes to the local and regional economy while responding to conservation requirements and preserving relevant heritage values. The regeneration of military sites is a complex process that requires careful consideration of various factors, including integrated environmental, spatial, and urban planning approaches to ensure beneficial reuse. That being said, some military structures are commonly and easily adapted, while other typologies are left behind due to their fabric's complexity or conservation issues. As one of the UK’s largest landowners, the MoD's estate encompasses over 4,000 sites, reflecting a broad spectrum of military buildings. From Hadrian's Wall to Cold War shelters, these structures range from defensive fortifications to sites with offensive capabilities, showcasing remarkable diversity. The complex nature and diverse range of military heritage underscore the importance of understanding its typologies. Therefore, this paper focuses on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) disposal list published in March 2023 and explores military structures across various categories, aiming to identify distinctive characteristics and types of sites listed for disposal by the MoD in the UK. It is important to note that while this study evaluates military sites based on their potential for heritage-led reuse and regeneration, non-heritage-based redevelopment options, such as secure storage, commercial uses, or logistical facilities, may be driven by entirely different criteria. This research sets evaluative criteria relevant to heritage conservation and regeneration while acknowledging that factors such as public accessibility and community benefits may not be applicable to all forms of reuse.
Following the identification of defence heritage typologies (by the London Historic Character Treasures and Historic England) and using key factors (typology, urban context, scale, community benefits derived from public accessibility, conservation conditions), the article will analyse case studies of key categories in order to evaluate the current situation and conservation challenges and opportunities that these categories pose. This investigation classifies military sites and examines how the attributes of military structures influence their potential for reuse and regeneration, addressing issues inadequately handled during disposal and planning processes. The categorisation and analysis of the UK MoD disposal list aims to shed light on the most challenging military heritage typologies that are not adequately addressed in terms of preservation and conservation, as well as regeneration potential.