Two days of bold ideas and local action exploring the future of Union Street.
This two-day programme of events explores how communities can take the lead in transforming long-neglected historic buildings into vibrant, useful spaces for today. Centred on Union Street and Plymouth’s rich entertainment heritage, the events highlight the power of local ownership, creative reuse and sustainable regeneration. Through national insight and local action, the programme champions new models for heritage—where at-risk buildings are not lost, but reimagined as assets for community life, culture and resilience.
Thursday 22nd May
Out on the Street
2pm to 5pm, C103 Union Street, PL1 3NB
National campaigning organisation SAVE Britain’s Heritage joins Nudge Community Builders and the local community of Union Street, Plymouth, on their campaign to revitalise the street’s empty buildings as valuable community assets.
Join the campaign!
No booking necessary
Come and meet the team from Nudge Community Builders, who are leading the charge to bring Union Street’s historic buildings back into community use. Learn about their work in Plymouth and how local people are reimagining these spaces for the future.
As part of the day, Nudge will offer tours of Millennium and C103—a chance to see behind the scenes and hear what’s next for these iconic buildings. You can also visit the mushroom farm in the repurposed basement of C103 where Nudge are growing Blue Oyster and King Oyster mushrooms, for sale to you. and restaurants and deli's across Plymouth.
Joining them on the street is SAVE Britain’s Heritage, a national campaigning organisation working to protect historic buildings across the UK. SAVE will be sharing stories from 50 years of activism and offering free copies of the ACT NOW! Toolkit—a practical guide to help you take action for the buildings you care about, wherever you are.
This is a chance to connect, get inspired and be part of the growing movement to bring historic places back to life—together.
Union Street Heritage Trails
Leaving from C103 Union Street, PL1 3NB at 1pm & 3pm
No booking necessary
Explore the rich history of Union Street on guided walks led by historians Dan Paolantonio and Richard Fisher. Discover the street’s past as a hub of nightlife, entertainment and grand architecture, and learn how its buildings and communities have changed over time. From lost cinemas to current regeneration efforts, these trails reveal the stories that shaped one of Plymouth’s most iconic streets.
Banner Painting Workshop: Say It Loud, Save It Proud!
C103 Union Street, PL1 3NB
No booking necessary
Join local artist Anna Christie for a hands-on, paint-splattered workshop where you can design and create your own campaign banner to shout about the buildings you love. Whether it’s a forgotten shopfront, a crumbling cinema or your favourite old pub—we want your slogans, colours and creativity!
We’ll provide the materials, you bring the passion. No art skills required—just your voice, your ideas and a building you care about.
Suitable for all ages. Come make a statement and stand up for your local heritage.
Building a Movement: A Short Documentary Film
The Plot, 80–84 Union Street, PL1 3EZ
No booking necessary
Screening continuously throughout the day, Building a Movement is a new film marking 50 years of SAVE Britain’s Heritage. Through interviews, archive footage and case studies, it explores how historic buildings—once neglected or under threat—have been brought back into use through public campaigning, creative reuse and legal action.
The film reveals how these buildings continue to shape our towns and cities, offering powerful tools for sustainability, identity and regeneration.
Friday 23rd May
Use It or Lose It Plymouth: Empowering Action on Historic Buildings
12pm to 2pm, Union Corner, 96 Union Street, PL1 3EZ
BOOK TICKETS
All over the country, communities are stepping up to reclaim buildings they love—but how do they get started, and what does success look like?
This panel explores how people can come together to revive empty spaces—from former shops and cinemas to historic pubs and market halls.
We’ll hear from those on the ground in Plymouth and beyond who are leading local regeneration efforts, using skills, connections and creativity to bring empty buildings back into use. The session will share practical ideas for sustainable reuse, routes to ownership and ways to generate investment.
Whether you’re already involved or just curious, join us for an inspiring, hands-on conversation about making change happen from the ground up.
Speakers:
Hannah Sloggett, Nudge Community Builders
Liz Fuller, SAVE Britain’s Heritage
Lindsey Hall, Real Ideas
Iain Slade, The Soapbox Children's Theatre
Hilary Kolinsky and Owen Ryles - Atheneum
From Risk to Revival: A Call to Action for Plymouth’s Heritage
6.30pm to 8.30pm, C103, 103 Union Street, PL1 3NB
BOOK TICKETS
With numerous buildings currently at risk in Plymouth, the city faces a growing challenge: how do we protect the places that define our communities before they disappear for good?
This evening panel brings together national and local voices to explore how policy, public pressure and partnership can help secure a future for Plymouth’s most endangered heritage.
The conversation will tackle the barriers—economic, bureaucratic and political—that stand in the way of reuse, and explore how we can shift systems to support regeneration, not demolition. Speakers will share examples of what’s working elsewhere, and discuss the tools, registers and reforms needed to activate underused historic buildings across the city.
This is a chance to connect local urgency with national momentum—and ask what it really takes to move from concern to action at scale.
Speakers:
Luke Pollard, MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
Liz Fuller, SAVE Britain’s Heritage
Hannah Sloggett and Wendy Hart, Nudge Community Builders (hosts and facilitators)
Simon Hickman, Historic England
Chris Robinson, local historian and author
Sefryn Penrose, director, BuTCH
Proudly sponsored by Urban Space Management
