The Use and Re-use of Vacant Industrial Premises: Some Initial Findings from the Epsrc-funded Stoke-on-trent Project

This paper provides a brief analysis of some of the results from a major research project on the use and re-use of vacant industrial premises (vips) that was funded by EPSRC under the Sustainable Cities Managed Programme (Ball, 1996). The research approach centres on the condition of 'vacancy'. This is used as a starting point for an assessment of the problems and the potentials of such buildings, and for an investigation of the processes and participants in re-use and refurbishment. In this regard, the research programme involved three Phases, including direct survey work on the character and extent of vacant floorspace and its changing profile over time, on refurbishment and re-use processes, and on the involvement of developers and related organisations in the re-use process. From the resultant mass of original research data that has been derived, the paper selects some aspects for discussion, drawing out and reflecting on some of the research implications. The paper commences with a short contextual comment. It then reports and reflects on some of the basic findings, focusing in particular on the links between vacant industrial buildings and the notion of sustainable urban regeneration.