I always enjoy my visits here.
Heritage buildings and ventures, frequent reminders of its history, a variety of brands, long established indies, new arrivals, #retail, #hospitality, services, arts & crafts, creative, culture playing their part, waterways with a new leisure offer alongside, public space, innovating, people working hard to make it the best it can be. What did I miss…?
Banbury town centre is an important part of my own journey to #TheVacantShopsAcademy and taught us much that is in the ‘audit, engage, encourage, promote’ approach to tackling #highstreet empty ‘shops’ issues we’re now using to support local teams in town and city centres around the country – 36 of them to date and counting.
We’re not involved here these days tho a number of good friends are.
So this is Christmas…
…and if I’m allowed one wish it’s that here, and wherever empty ‘shops’ and your mix of uses is a challenge, agents, landlords, businesses, community, cultural organisations, councils, chamber, BID and others identified locally get a positive, proactive ‘place partnership’ in play to maximise the benefit of their individual skills, effort, resources and powers, start to bring your vacancy numbers down, adjust the balance of types and switch the narrative.
The approach works, we know it does, and if vacancy is too high in your place or residents, businesses or members are worried about that mix, we’d love to talk you through it…
