CAMPAIGNERS say reducing the level of VAT could be the route to bringing Tonedale Mill back into use as housing.

A new Historic England report says that cutting the tax rate to zero or even 5 per cent – the rate charged for many office-to-flats conversions – would often make long-awaited regeneration financially viable.

The change could also speed up the move to zero-carbon in construction. Building new homes produces up to 13 times more embedded carbon dioxide than refurbishing a Victorian building, says the report, There’s No Place

Like Old Homes, Reuse and Recycle to Reduce Carbon.

Wellington Mills Community Interest Company spokesman Keith Wheatley said: “Tonedale has had planning permission for conversion to apartments for many years.

“The problem has been that the costs, when you include 20 per cent VAT, didn’t make it a profitable project. A simple decision from Number 11 could change that.

“It’s ridiculous that it’s currently 15 per cent cheaper to convert a block of 1970s offices than to rescue a beautiful part of our industrial heritage. Add in the saving in carbon and it makes the idea a no-brainer.”

Historic England’s call has been backed by the influential Country Land and Business Association which has written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak calling for the change to be introduced in his March 11 Budget.

Ben Cowell, chairman of the Historic Environment Forum, a coalition of heritage groups, said: “This is game-changing research. It shows how living in the past can help us to step into a carbon-friendly future.”