Congratulations to Her Majesty the Queen for her Platinum Jubilee. No doubt she will recall that much of the velvet for her coronation and indeed for her father George VI’s, was woven at Velvet Mill in Bradford. After the coronation, Velvet Mill became derelict but a courageous collaboration between Urban Splash, Yorkshire Forward and Bradford City Council gave it a new use as a place to live and a focal point for the community.

David Morley Architects helped them work through the challenges and we can see huge opportunities in virtually every town and city centre throughout the UK to creatively bring derelict buildings back into use as a low carbon alternative to the soulless housing developments eating up the countryside. Let’s hope the jubilee celebrations will galvanise communities and help invigorate a culture of caring about the past as we look to the future.