What would you change…?
With the government promising to publish a ‘High Streets Strategy’ later this year, I thought to share again the tackling #highstreet vacancy-focused ‘manifesto’ I drew up in May ‘24 in the run up to that year’s election.
The aim is to deliver the policy and regulation adjusts that will help places try halve their headline vacancy rate and drop the long-stuck national empties percentage into single figures.
I know there are elements of what follows that #property and #placemaking colleagues disagree on.
It’d be great to hear what you think…
So here goes…!
- Ask (and resource) every local authority to report on vacancy numbers twice a year, and work with agents, landlords, businesses, community, cultural organisations, chamber and BID where there is one to overcome barriers to let to include…
Give them scope to override national use class guidance and permitted development rules in line with local priorities;
- Create new powers to end business rates avoidance and evasion and allow flexibility to incentivise tackling vacancy eg around thresholds, ‘fit to occupy’, listed building charity (and CIC) and second unit reliefs;
Strengthen (and resource) regulations to enforce minimum ‘fit to occupy’ standards on all highstreet buildings;
- Sweep away the additional letting requirements on councils when they are landlords so that local authorities are all beacons of good practice;
Require every vacant highstreet unit to be marketed with a registered agent and the place to have a publicly available empty & available units listing;
- Change the process which keep units empty when the previous tenant went into administration or left with time to go on their lease;
Build funds to support community right to buy including the co-ordination and property skills to make it happen and be sustainable;
- Develop a series of popup use projects leading to longer pilots based on successful examples for arts & crafts, culture, creative and community uses;
Mandate all NHS Trusts to work with their places to develop accessible first contact & diagnostic services in town & city centres;
- Encourage and resource places to ‘audit’ and develop strategies to reduce un- and under-used space on upper floors of vacant and occupied units.
What would you add / adjust…?
