Why character is key to creating places that thrive

The most successful places are defined by more than their buildings. From pubs and theatres to independent operators and community spaces, it is often the uses that bring people together that give a place its character – and ultimately help it thrive.

Following the publication of his latest opinion piece in Property Week, Socius Managing Director Barry Jessup explores why these uses require long-term commitment and stewardship, and why social and financial value are increasingly going hand in hand.

Barry writes:

The recent announcement of stronger planning protections for every pub in England is a welcome recognition that some businesses are more than commercial occupiers: they are community assets.

Ask anyone what they remember about a great piece of city and they rarely describe the architecture. They describe the theatre they stumbled into, the market they lingered at, the pub where they met friends. Places live or die on their uses - and in mixed-use development, it is the appropriate, exciting and sometimes unexpected uses that turn a scheme into a neighbourhood. Most people in our industry understand that. Delivering it is another matter.

At Socius, and previously First Base, this conviction has shaped our thinking for more than two decades. At Adelaide Wharf in Hackney we delivered one of London’s first affordable co-working spaces, long before flexible workspace became an asset class. At 360 London in Elephant & Castle we made room for a theatre; around the corner at Printworks, an art gallery. Greenwich Square combined a leisure centre with a craft brewery.

None of these uses represented the path of least resistance. And that is the uncomfortable truth the industry needs to be honest about: the uses that most animate a place are frequently the hardest to deliver and the hardest to sustain.

The economics do not always stack up neatly on a spreadsheet. A theatre, music venue or gallery cannot pay the rent a supermarket can. Independent operators - the brewer, the baker, the market trader - lack the covenant strength that valuers and lenders reward. These uses require patient curation: hands-on management, flexible leases and sometimes support through their early years while footfall builds. When markets tighten, they can be among the first things to be “value-engineered” out.

Sustaining them is harder still. An exciting use that opens with fanfare can quietly disappear a few years later if the developer has moved on and nobody is minding the mix. Sometimes, despite the best intentions, these uses simply do not work. Operators fail, markets change and ideas do not always find their audience. But the greater failure is allowing that risk to become the reason not to try. If every decision is driven by the safest covenant and most predictable return, we should not be surprised when the places we create lack character. It is one of the reasons we established a place-management arm, Populate: to make sure that we could keep the promises Socius was making and ensure dynamic mixed-use places are nurtured and sustained for the long-term

The good news is that there is now a broader recognition that these uses should not be viewed simply as a planning obligation or a cost to be absorbed. Done well, they are a source of long-term value.

Even before this week’s protections for pubs, Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who championed the night-time economy throughout his time in Manchester, has put the revival of the high street at the centre of his early agenda.

More telling still is his framing: Burnham has talked about prioritising businesses that bring social benefit and bring people together. It resonates strongly with what we see on the ground as we bring back the Flying Pig pub as part of a broader office-led development with Railpen at Botanic Place in Cambridge. At the London Cancer Hub in Sutton, with Aviva, Populate is operating an innovation centre alongside padel courts - science and sociability within one masterplan.

That blanket protection for pubs is placemaking language being translated into national policy. It gives valued community assets breathing space and recognises that they should be treated differently from more transitory commercial uses. Music venues, theatres, markets and other social gathering spaces that also give places their identity deserve similar support.

As well national government, local authorities also understand the importance of dynamic spaces that bring people together. The most forward-thinking are seeking curated ground floors, meanwhile uses and community anchors, recognising that the right mix can do far more for an area than another vacant retail unit.

Most critically, investors - particularly those pursuing long-income and place-based strategies - are increasingly recognising that well-curated uses drive footfall, resilience, rental performance and reputation. Social value and financial value are converging.

Our experience suggests a simple lesson. Character does not happen by accident, and nor does it survive by accident. It requires conviction at appraisal stage, creativity in deal structures and stewardship long after practical completion. The things that give a place its character and bring people together can also support the bottom line.