From Law Degree to Legacy: Tim Heatley’s Recipe for Sustainable, Community-Centered Growth
- Aug 4
- 4 min read
– Write up of the #IlSalottoSessions interview –
Tim Heatley didn’t set out to be “just another developer.” He grew up in rural Salford, watching his social worker parents take in vulnerable adults with learning difficulties, even when times got tough. Those early lessons stuck: buildings aren’t just bricks and mortar, they’re the backdrop for people’s lives, a chance to lift communities up rather than line pockets.
By Sara Seravalli
Last month, I had the immense pleasure of sitting down with Tim Heatley, co-founder of Capital & Centric. As you may know, if you’ve been following my work, two principles drive me. First, as an Italian who’s lived and breathed design and architecture since childhood, I’m captivated by beauty - stunning buildings move me deeply. Second, after twelve years in the specification market with #designpopup, collaborating with architects and designers, I’ve come to fully appreciate how thoughtfully designed spaces improve our lives.
That’s why I was so keen to interview Tim. Capital & Centric is one of the few developers who blend both passions: they lovingly restore semi-derelict, redundant buildings into breath taking renovations, creating communities, quality homes, and shared spaces where we can come together and support one another.
You can watch the full interview on our YouTube channel or read the excerpt below.
From Law Graduate to Community-First Developer
After earning a law degree, Heatley spent a few years as a small-scale developer. But architecture wasn’t an abstract “passion project” - it was a way to weave art into everyday life.
“Architecture is unavoidable art,” he says. “You’re going to see it every day - make it uplifting, make it democratically accessible, and you make society better.”
Meeting Adam Higgins led to the founding of Capital & Centric, and the duo doubled in size every couple of years by stubbornly refusing to chase easy profits at the expense of people.
Social Impact as a Core Metric
While low-carbon and sustainability targets are measurable and widely talked about, social impact still lives in PowerPoint “embryonic” territory. Heatley smiles at half-hearted developers who slap a “social impact” badge on their website but treat it as a trend. True impact means embedding values - from design partner choices to landowner negotiations - so that everyone understands the trade-off: yes, you might pay £100,000 less per acre today, but in ten years that land’s value soars because you’ve created a place people want to live in. “Eventually it becomes financially better,” he argues, “because that snowball effect compounds - and we’re proving it every day.”
Long-Term Thinking Beats Quick Wins
Heatley drives an electric Smart car for city hops, and an older 100,000-mile Audi for longer runs. He’s not an eco-zealot; he’s proving that a lean, functional approach outlasts flash and bling. Capital & Centric’s recipe? Treat every project with a 10- to 15-year horizon. Reinvent mills and warehouses where people crave high ceilings and daylight. Make new builds 20 per cent larger than competitors, because tenants will pay 20 per cent more, and stay longer. Then reinvest the profits back into the next project instead of cashing out. The result: a resilient business model with less competition - and better returns over time.
Placemaking, Not Just Property
Too many developers deliver cookie-cutter housing estates with no shops, cafés or green spaces. Heatley points to Homes England’s Norristhorpe New Town in Cambridgeshire as a better model: “You need village stores, bowling greens, pubs, co-working spaces… amenities create customers.” Capital & Centric builds and often operates cafés or art venues on site to seed community life. They stage craft markets, music events and pop-ups to reshape a place’s reputation before apartments open. And they landscape first - even before foundations go in - so that when people see trees and flowers, they already imagine themselves there.
Working with Government - and Across Politics
From Liverpool’s Steve Rotheram to Manchester’s Andy Burnham, Heatley has found that the best mayors see beyond party lines. He’s briefed ministers on rough-sleeping initiatives with Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves, arguing that early investment in homelessness prevention saves far more in emergency services later. Local authorities, pension funds and architects must all sing from the same hymn sheet to turn run-down post-industrial towns into thriving neighbourhoods.
Growing the Talent Pipeline
If regeneration is about people as much as buildings, why isn’t the sector more diverse? Heatley co-founded Regeneration Brainery to train young women and people from disadvantaged backgrounds in project management, surveying and architecture. “Look in any built-environment consultancy car park,” he notes, “and you’ll see nice cars. That’s a well-paid sector, but many kids have no route in.” By mentoring hundreds of students nationwide, Brainery builds the next generation of socially conscious developers.
Choosing the Right Partners
Capital & Centric used to stick with boutique consultants because “big firms couldn’t see the world our way.” Now, as their voice and influence grow, they bring large practices into the fold - on one condition: share our commitment to low-energy design and social impact. And just as important, they need to make each other laugh. One project manager joined on the simple rule that work should be fun - 15 years on, he’s still on board.
Tim Heatley’s message is clear: you can demand more from development - more space, more amenity, more green, more community - and still build a profitable business. It takes patience, long-term thinking and the guts to say “no” to quick-buck land deals. But in a country desperate for homes that don’t feel like prisons, that approach isn’t just admirable; it’s essential.
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