FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES:
Turning stranded assets, Market Halls and vacant buildings into thriving civic destinations.
The Challenge
Local authorities are responsible for many of the buildings that shape the identity and daily life of their towns: market halls, heritage assets, town halls, cultural buildings and prominent retail units. In many places, these spaces sit underused or in transition, waiting for a purpose that aligns with the community’s needs. Some even have funded plans in place, but remain stalled without the right delivery partner to bring them into long-term, sustainable use.
What councils rarely have is a credible operator who can help turn that vision into a working reality. A partner who understands regeneration policy, funding requirements, local authority governance and the need for equitable, transparent arrangements that protect public value. Without experienced operatorship, even the strongest concepts struggle to take shape, and assets that should be civic anchors remain stranded.
Our Solution
Urban Collective partners with local authorities to unlock the potential of underused buildings, creating independent-led venues that deliver both commercial performance and visible community impact.
Where a multi-tenanted model is appropriate we can support you to:
Develop a clear concept and identity tailored to the town
Curate independent operators and local businesses
Deliver meanwhile or permanent activation
Operate the venue day-to-day with professional, transparent management
Build long-term resilience so the building remains an asset, not a liability
Our venues become civic anchors: places that generate footfall, support small businesses, create jobs and restore pride and momentum in the town centre.
Bring civic assets back into purposeful use: We help councils turn underused or stranded buildings into active, welcoming civic destinations that support local life. Whether it’s a market hall, heritage space or vacant town-centre unit, we shape a concept that fits the place, the community and the council’s wider regeneration goals.
Long-term operational partnership: We don’t hand over a concept and walk away. Urban Collective provides the professional operatorship most councils do not have in-house: tenant curation, day-to-day management, programming, compliance, financial discipline and continuous improvement. We ensure the building works in practice, not just on paper.
Support with funding, business cases and delivery planning: Through Next Phase, we have extensive experience producing Green Book–aligned business cases, feasibility studies and operational models. We help councils secure funding, demonstrate deliverability, and move projects from idea to implementation with clarity and confidence.
Commercial performance aligned with public value: Our operating model balances commercial resilience with civic outcomes. We generate sustainable revenue while supporting independent businesses, creating jobs, activating the evening economy and boosting town-centre vitality. Every venue is designed to return value to both the council and the community it serves.
Transparent governance and KPI reporting: We understand the scrutiny, accountability and governance frameworks councils work within. Our approach includes clear reporting on footfall, trading performance, socioeconomic value and community impact, giving officers and members confidence in both outcomes and stewardship.
A place-based approach for every project: No two towns are the same. We tailor every venue to local identity, local need and local ambition, working collaboratively with officers, members, stakeholders and communities to ensure the building becomes a genuine civic anchor.
What we deliver for Councils:
Why Urban Collective?
We understand local authorities
We have worked with councils across the UK on market halls, food halls, mixed-use schemes and heritage buildings. We know how procurement works, how funding cycles operate, and what internal pressures officers and members face.
We bring operational experience, not just consultancy
Our team has run some of the UK’s most successful multi-tenanted venues. We know what works – and what doesn’t – in the day-to-day reality of food, retail and community spaces.
Flexible partnership models
We work within the structures that suit your asset and strategy, including:
Leasehold – full operational responsibility under a commercial lease
Management agreements – we operate the venue on your behalf
Joint ventures – shared investment and shared returns
We connect civic and commercial outcomes
Our venues maximise socioeconomic value while generating sustainable revenue streams. We understand how to balance public purpose with commercial performance.
We tailor every project to place
No roll-outs, no copy-and-paste concepts. Each venue is designed around the building, the community and the local economy.
We derisk delivery
From feasibility through to operation, we bring expertise, proven systems and a deep understanding of how to make complex assets succeed long term.