Whose Heritage? Contested Heritage Discourses in Post-Industrial Regeneration: King’s Cross Central 1988-2006 Part 2 Dissertation 2026 Sophie Henderson Cardiff University | UK Heritage preservation and planning are often shaped by authorised heritage discourses that privilege expert knowledge, despite heritage itself being a socially constructed and contested process. This dissertation investigates how heritage was constructed through textual and visual discourses during the regeneration of King's Cross Central, asking how competing narratives influenced what was preserved, transformed, or demolished. To address this, it examines how different actors mobilised language, expertise, and representation to define the site's heritage, and how these competing claims shaped architectural and planning outcomes.Using Critical and Visual Discourse Analysis, the research compares planning documents, heritage assessments, archival records, and community publications to reveal how different actors sought to define the site's heritage. It demonstrates that expert-led narratives played a dominant role in legitimising redevelopment, while local communities strategically adopted similar forms of expertise to challenge exclusion and advocate for alternative understandings of place.The dissertation argues that heritage is not a fixed or objective record of history but an ongoing process of negotiation that continues to shape architectural and planning decisions. By highlighting the relationship between power, representation, and the built environment, it questions whose histories are recognised and whose are overlooked within contemporary regeneration.Ultimately, the research calls for more inclusive approaches to conservation that value lived experience alongside technical expertise, offering a framework for understanding heritage as a shared and evolving cultural process rather than a static legacy of the past. Tutor(s) Melina Guirnaldos Diaz