“You should aim to halve your #highstreet vacancy rate in 18 months.”
I’m never sure whether to actually say this out loud when talking with place leaders about our ‘audit, engage, encourage, promote’ approach to reducing the number of empty units in your town or city centre, and improve the mix of uses.
I 100% believe you can. We’ve seen very different places, from different starting points, ten years apart, do just that. Others are on track to do it too.
What’s more, now we’re working on the 36th location we’ve taken the approach with #TheVacantShopsAcademy, we can see half way through the process why you might not, what’s missing from your project.
At the heart of it is two things…
- Having a tackling vacancy-focused ‘place partnership’ involving agents, landlords, businesses, community, cultural organisations, council(s), chamber, BID if you have one plus others identified locally, working together on this.
- Looking beyond #retail, #hospitality and services (though they all continue to have a big part to play) to other uses: arts & crafts, creative, culture, community, history & heritage, leisure, education, health, health & wellbeing, as go-to options for taking on units.
If you do both, we’re confident you’ll hit the target. Some places – like Wantage in Oxfordshire, which was our first – do it quicker.
Halve your vacancy rate in 18 months. Maybe further, faster.
Why wouldn’t you go for it…?
